Super Dave

We had record snow in Chicago, and Dave shoveled to whole west side of the block and helped neighbors shovel out their cars to get to work on time. Later, he fliered the blocks of Keystone, Karlov, and Kedvale, as well as all the businesses on the 1500 block of Pulaski, and the businesses on the 4000 block of North Avenue. Dave wants to have a super block club that takes the triangle bordered by Grand, Pulaski, and North Avenue, can't say I don't dream of a community organization myself. Dave made a connection with the owner of Don Carlos bar and wants to inform residents of a new venture the owner wants to bring to the neighborhood.

By the way, on a random note, Dave worked the polls last Tuesday, he seems to be the only proud Republican on the West Side. Yesterday,he was yelling outside that if we don't get our politicians to listen, he is going to make sure they vote Republican, he also screamed his belief in smaller government for the whole bloc to hear. I have to say I love this guy, I can't imagine our block without Dave. If we leave, things will be o.k.

Great Movie Accents

Just like all movie lovers, I love great actors and actresses, moreover, I appreciate when actors change their accent to fit a regional dialect of their character.

Great Movie Accents:

Brad Pitt- Snatch
Daniel Day Lewis- Gangs of New York
Leonardo DiCaprio- Blood Diamond, Departed
Mel Gibson- Braveheart

Any star from Australia, Britain putting on an American accent.

Rachiel Weisz, Eric Bana, Kate Winslet,Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Christian Bale, Anthony LaPaglia, Bob Hoskins, Emily Blunt, Ben Kingsly, Hugh Jackman, and Cate Blanchett.

True Chicago Snowstorrm

RIP Animal Kingdom

Born and raised in Chicago, I feel like an old sage, although I am only 32. I grew up before the gentrification of this city and in my young age I can tell you tales of old.

I spent most of my childhood in a Polish neighborhood near the intersection of Milwaukee and Pulaski. We'd have to take Milwaukee Avenue down to Logan Blvd., to the Expressway, to Fullerton to get to my grandma's house. You'd pass tons of Polish deli's, bakeries, and clothing stores. Old furniture shops and five and dime stores. One store you'd pass was Animal Kingdom, my only template for a pet shop. Its neon sign with a little puppy and jungle themed mural in front becnoned you in. And when you got in you got to see tropical fish, rabbits, gerbils, among other live animals. The real treat of Animal Kingdom was the fact that they had a real live tiger in a cage, along with chimps, and parrots. As a kid there was nothing better than to see a real tiger in a 10x10 foot cage, up close. In later years, when I came back to Animal Kingdom, that tiger and chimp were replaced with a coyote and some other kind of primate. The economy and hipsters did that place in. Those hipsters love a kitchy, ethnic neighborhood full of taverns and cheap rent and empty storefronts ripe for the pickin', but they sure don't like caged animals or puppy mills. So another True Chicago vestige of old is gone forever,probably replaced by some hipster lounge or club called Kuma's Corner 2, The Avondale Inn, The White Eagle , or worse even, Animal Kingdom.

Fwd: Logan Square Blogger Entry #2

Last night, was at the Handlebar, ate some nut soup. My Native-American friend Tatanka from El Paso, Gunther from the Global Transportation Alliance, and I were talking about all of the systemic problems that lead poverty and violence in the lives of African American youth, we all proceeded to " unpack our knapsack of white privilege" and pledged to, sometime in our life live in the "hood" as a way of solidarity and undermining the systems that bring people down. I feel in some way we were able to do that later in the evening. We went to the Hispanic, I mean Latino, part of Logan Square, and hit up a dive bar on Fullerton, close to Pulaski, called the Leevee.

It was a great time to mingle with the proletariat, I mean I drank my Old Style with, next to a Guatemalan immigrant, I tried to talk to him about how I thought his people subjugated by the Chiquita Banana Co., he didn't know what I was talking about, but I felt we connected. Gunther stood close to a gentleman in his 60's, and struck up a conversation about what its has been like living in Logan Square so many years; while he wasn't expecting a racist rant at all the dumb Polaks, Puerto Rican gangbangers, and the Spanish signs at Jimenez he can't read, I think Gunther got the man to appreciate the real sense of joy he feels living in a diverse, multicultural got ethnic neighborhood. Tatanka, just wanted to leave, so we did. What a night, as I rode my bicycle with Gunther on his unicycle, and Tatanka on stilts, down Fullerton, I could hear a faint whisper of the men we met..... "thank you for spending that brief moment in time with us and being practitioners of your convictions, you are doing your little part to make this world right."

True Chicago Guest Blogger: Eric Runyan

[Guest author’s thoughts] Friday night, after the creator of this informative blog and I helped get our kids to bed for the night, we took the invitation to attend a local “political rally” (can’t think of a better term). From what I could tell this event was put on by our alderman for all the candidates that represent or could represent the people of his ward. I must pause here for a second and say “the people from his ward” were greatly outnumbered by the politico types, the candidates and their right hand men and women.

Because we have kids, which we care more about than this gathering, we arrived late
(8:00 for a 6:30 start time). But we were right on time. As we walked up to the door, we spot Cynthia Soto (someone had to point her out to us) walking out, she currently represents our district in the Illinois house. Perfect, this is the person we wanted to see. We had some questions to ask. Immediately we started talking to her about the issues we have been trying to contact her about for the better part of her term with no real response or action. To make a long story short, she seemed to have little care towards what we were talking about and said we have to understand things are busy, that she is in the middle of a “contested” race in the primary so everything she is doing is focused on winning this campaign. Everything? Just a question I wish I would have asked, “Do you take vacation days when you are not working on matters that affect the constituents of the 4th district?” This was sad to hear.

I opened the door and who is it that I see, the governor of our great state Pat Quinn. (I seem to have just read our great state is accumulating the greatest financial deficit in its history and isn’t shrinking. And focusing energy on campaigning to get re-elected is the best we can do at this time? Another guest blog. )

I never thought I would be a part of something like this. I came to realize I think this was a political machine party. I don’t really know what that means, but it seemed to have a certain look/feel to it…how we were included on the invite list is a mystery to me.

Now to the real meat of why I was asked to contribute to this blog. As we were watching the candidates take the stage and give their stump speeches about why they are the best person for the job, I was thinking to myself ‘what is this that am I at?’ No one said anything that mattered. Buzz words and slogans flew everywhere. Nothing about what you believe or what you care about or what you want to do if elected. Just yelling to convince the people who are already on your side you are the best vote. Did I mention yet, I am not sure how we were invited or why they thought we were the right people for this gathering?

Don’t get me wrong…I love the democracy in which I live and take part in. I know I have it wonderful compared to many other parts of the world where this letter/blog would put me under scrutiny just for thinking/writing it. Our system is manned by and for people that can express how they feel… the beauty of our system, right? A question that swirled in my head for the better part of the night was what forum do candidates have to express where they stand and it not be about yelling and getting you to think they are the best because of some 25 second catch phrase you give to me and the rest of the non-listening audience.

I probably wasn’t at the right event for this to take place, but plenty of candidates were willing to hand me their political flyer and remind me what number to punch to take a look at the people/organizations who endorsed them. In the same short time, you could have just talked to me. I know time is short and there are many more important people than I, but 1-2 minutes engaging in a conversation would go a long way. I am not asking for an emotional connection but something more than the words you throw around that I feel like you’re not even sure that you mean.

This was never clearer than with a candidate running for a sub circuit judge. As we were walking out, she found it important enough to approach us and make sure we saw her face and knew what number to punch (when we voted). When we gave our home address and asked if we could even vote for her, she replied she didn’t think so. We then seemed to be less of a priority. She then proceeded to turn around when someone else needed her attention. Not an “excuse me” or “could you wait a minute” or anything like it. We waited for a few seconds and when it was apparent she wasn’t coming back to us, we walked out the door. Needless to say, I threw her literature in the trash.

I need to end with one positive from the whole night. As we were about to leave, I saw a candidate for one of the sub circuit judges, Steven Fruth. He appeared to be getting ready to leave but I asked him, “In one minute tell me why you should be the judge and what will you do to serve the people that elect you?” He graciously explained who he was as a person and the things he felt were important to him (why do we elect judges?). I then went on to ask him about the most current ruling of the Supreme Court in regards to campaign contributions. He answered honestly giving us the reasons in which he rooted his opinion. He had time for us. I liked that.

Good Luck

From Gapers Block:

"If you're looking for some help in deciding on who will get your vote in this Tuesday's election, here is some help from the Sun-Times, the Trib, Vote for Judges, Chicago Bar Association, the Independent Voters of Illinois, the Chicago Federation of Labor, Crain's, and finally, further coverage from the Reader and Windy City Times. Good luck."

Black Tongue

This morning I woke up with a black tongue, I got nervous. When I googled it I found out that my condition ws called black, hairy tongue. I was stressed I might have some kind of stomach cancer considering my weak stomach for the last few days, it turns out that my saliva reacted weirdly to the chewable Pepto-bismol tablets I ate last night. Thank God.

Getting Older

Soon I turn 33. I have waited forever to look my age, and I finally feel like I am. I mean, I weigh a couple years ahead of my age, so I have been waiting for my physical features to catch up. Well, I finally got crows feet, I have a furrow over my brow, my sideburns are starting to fill in, and I think I can grow a man mustache.

Puking

I can count the times I've thrown up in my life in less than two hands. On Thursday I added to my count. Its not good to eat a whole loaf of raisin bread, a baguette of 9-Grain bread, chicken medallions, and a banana split, and get the stomach flu. The good thing about this sickness was that I learned a method of not tasting my puke, I hold my nose, I recommend it. I felt over the sickness today and partook of at least three cups of coffee, a roast beef sandwich, Lou Manati's pizza and some wine...don't feel good. No puke, thank God, at least stuff is not coming up, just going out the other side, I can handle that.

Irony

Driving up Pulaski from I-290. I see a lot of foreclosed, boarded up houses and apartment buildings plastered with political signs for next week's primary.

Guerilla Historical Society Update #1

I found a photo of North Avenue and Pulaski from 1934 in a Special Collection of photos from the Weast Side of Chicago. I've got to check it out at the Harold Washington Library downtown. It comes from the Campbell Collection #277. There are apparently more photos from our area dating back to the turn of the 20th Century. Also, Bethel Church has a bunch of photos of the church and the neighborhood dating back to 1896. I am going to be allowed to check them out, amybe even achaive them.

Vote Februry 2nd

Don't think it doesn't matter. Your choices are few.There are some Green Party challengers and even fewer Republicans in Chicago. We effectively have a one party system in this city and county, and if this were the Federal Government we'd start a revolution. So few people vote here, so your vote does make a differnce. True Chicagoans vote.

Check out your ballot and some editorials here:




http://elections.chicagotribune.com/



http://elections.chicagotribune.com/editorial/

My Favorite Puerto Rican Actor

Luis Guzman is hands down my favorite Puerto Rican actor. I love it when I see this guys face on a film.For years I swore that the villain in Ghost was the same guy. However, I was mistaken.

Star Sightings

Every once in a while when I movie is being filmed in Chicago I happen upon the set. The first time this happened I was at the Field Museum and saw a scene from the 1988 Kevein Bacon/John Hughes film She's Having a Baby. Later, I actually met some movie stars, I shook hands with Robert Downey Jr. and was snubbed by Tommy Lee Jones on Irving Park Rd., during a break from a scene from the 1998 sequel to the Fugitive, U.S. Marshalls. I also saw David Duchovney and Minnie Driver slow dance over and over during the filming of a scene from the 1999 movie, Return to Me. Another time I saw the irrepressible actress, Helena Bonham Carter walking down Michigan Avenue, in town filming the dark Steve Martin comedy, Novacaine.
However, there is one star sighting that burns in my memory. It is my encounter with the most asinine and arrogant actor ever to grace the silver screen, if you think I'm speaking of local thespian Jeremy Piven you are wrong, you must meet Billy Zane.
The fateful night began at 11:45 during a summer night in the year, 1997. Daniel, my brother, and I were going to a midnight showing of the future Bruce Willis, Michael Clark Duncan blockbuster, Armageddon at the McClurg Court theater downtown. We sat down a little toward the back. From the corner of my eye, I notice a gentleman sporting a Donegal Irish Tweed hat covering a cleanly shorn head, a white collared shirt, two top buttons unbuttoned, white slacks,and white shoes, but I didn't pay much attention. Then some girls came running up to the gentleman, in the commotion the gentleman exclaims in a snarky voice, " Oh no, Armagedden outta here." My brother and I looked back, our contempt muscles flexing, at the lameness of his pun. Soon a Puerto Rican man came running up the aisles,yelling "Oh my God, its Billy, Billy Zane, I love your work on the Titanic." Soon a swarm of people began to surround Mr.Zane. He entertained the crowd with his half humble stories of working with Michael J. Fox on Back to the Future, Sam Elliot on Critters, and of his title role in the adaptation Sunday comic, The Phantom, co-starring Kristy Swanson, of the original Buffy the Vampire fame. His sordid tales were interrupted by the house lights dimming. Soon the crowd was ready to watch that summer's second and best cinematic turn at portraying an asteroid's potential to end all human existence. As the previews were about to begin, the motion picture began to become distorted, maybe some snafu with the projector, all of a sudden a bellow cracks from in back of us, "FocUS!". O' Billy Zane, with his method acting, trying to be the hero. The whole movie I felt this knot in my back, I couldn't shake the cringe that Mr. Zane elicited in me. To this day whenever I see Billy in print or on screen, I remember that fateful day I ran into a famous movie actor and realized that they are not just like us, sometimes they are just an ass.

Cook County Commissioners

Last night we had two candidates for Cook County Commissioner come to our block club meeting. I have no illusions of grandeur that this kind stuff is going to change the world. I'm no revolutionary or system guy, I know this because one time I said said to my Principal on my first day teaching, and I quote " I am going to change the system in CPS", and that didn't happen. I do believe in incremental change. I do believe in education and connecting the dots. What I mean is that little things like knowing who is on the ballot before the election, who your candidates are by name and face, what they stand for, knowing the address of the polling place make a difference.

Let's connect the dots, my alderman won a landslide victory in 2007 with 70% of the vote, just 3,400 votes. There are 370 registered voters in my three block precinct. If we organized to get our three 1500 N. blocks of Keystone, Karlov,and Kedvale to vote, we would've had over 10% of the vote. We have the power to make change, in the political sense, at this small scale and over time. Oh I think its a travesty that only 15% of the registered voters in my ward voted for my alderman. I'm suggesting we can wrap our heads around this thing; politicians look at numbers and just a small coalescence of grass-roots, registered voters in forgotten places is scary and can get an elected official's ear.
My goal last night was to facilitate a situation that would allow my neighbors in this remote, unassuming part of Chicago to feel like they have a voice, that big struggles and complaints that we have everyday about how the system fails us doesn't fall on deaf ears and we're not always just pissin' in the wind. The goal was to educate neighbors so that they weren't voting on February 2nd blindly, it was also to get some aspiring politicians to get comfortable in our basement, tell us what they do or like to do, tell us their platform, and take questions. I found it to be beautiful. Simple, beautiful, radical Democracy.



P.S. If you want to get a better blow, by blow perspective on the night read this post by Emily called Politics:



January 8, 2010 by runyanthree

We had the 2 candidates running to fill the seat for Cook County Commissioner at our block club meeting last night. How humbling to see two politicians shaking our hands in their thin little black dress socks (because everyone takes off their shoes before they come in to the basement). It was really interesting to hear more about the politics and inner workings of Cook County (which short of NPR, I know very little about)…how much money is spent, how much they make, bits and pieces of their role in the overall functioning of our city and who likes and does not like who. And of course the commitment to end patronage. They were able to provide some specific things they would do and then avoided other questions. Dave famously asked many questions and even explained at the end that we felt all politicians were full of shit. Diana talked about her horrible experience at Cook County Hospital regarding her current kidney stone and Dan asked for money for our block club to start a summer program. I loved the opportunity to connect a name and personality and I told Bill that I think he should arrange it each election in some capacity. Oh! I almost forgot the most important thing–while one candidate was here the other arrived with his Dunkin Donuts and coffee for everyone. Bill told us later that when he went out to greet the candidate and his crony that the guy had fallen down our stairs and was mad so he went to wait in his car. With our recent snowfall the stairs were slippery…whoops. Bill had fun imagining him fly down the stairs in his nice suit. He told Bill he would only be able to stay for 15 minutes but must have had so much fun talking about himself that he stayed for over an hour (and then apparently went to go ice his back). So just so you know any day now we might be sued for all we have.

Doppleganger

Over the last year I have gained over 20lbs. In February I weighed as low as 206lbs now I'm 227. I am beginning to look less and less like Wilmer Valderrama, formerly of That 70's Show and currently the Voice of Handy Manny on the Disney Channel, and more like the great character actor Oliver Platt from such great movies as Beethoven, Disney's The Three Musketeers,Dr. Doolittle, and the Oscar nominated Frost/Nixon.

Guerilla Historical Society

I've tried guerilla gardening on Pulaski and LeMoyne and my plants were stolen. Next up, Guerilla Historical Society. I have gone underground, since no one was interested, and I have been collecting historical photos and information about my neighborhood of North/Pulaski in Chicago. So far I have procured about ten photos ranging from 1900-1973. I'm a preservationist in a neighborhood that doesn't know or doesn't care that it needs to be preserved, so I am alone. I plan to strike in the next year, by informing residents, by any means possible, about the history of our neighborhood and the need to preserve the collective memory of this space and place. If you care to join me in the revolution, I will be staging my first installation soon.

My Final Resting Place

Today I went out with my dad on a self guided tour of our beloved town. I had tried to make a customized tour based on a theme my dad gave me. He wanted to visit old mansions of famous Chicagoans. That took us to the South Loop and Prarie Avenue. We tried getting into the Clarke House, the oldest structure in Chicago, and the Glessener Mansion Museum, but when we got there the tours were booked for the next two hours. The tour took on more of a final resting place theme.

We happened upon the site of the Fort Dearborn Massacre, we visited the tomb of Stephen A. Douglas,the famous orator and Senator form Illinois, saw the site of the Camp Douglas prison camp,the final resting place of many Confederate POW's, we ate in Chinatown, and ended up touring the grounds of Graceland Cemetery.

It was a treat trying to find the tombstones and mausoleums of Carter Harrison, Daniel Burnham, Mies Van der Rohe, Potter Palmer, Marshall Field, Cyrus McCormick, John Kinzie, Joseph Medill, Joseph Armour, and other founding fathers of our city.

My father kept saying what a special day he had with me, and there is nothing better that stumbling upon places you've seen in pictures, in photos, or read about in books, and seeing them and experiencing them in real life. The day turned out to be unexpected, the best kind of day.

In all of the joy of our discoveries, I came to a decision that I wanted to be buried in Graceland Cemetery among the people that fostered the development of this city I call home.

I think of my grandfather, who is coming close to his last days, even though it probably makes practical sense to bury him wherever he dies, whether he finds himself near family in Chicago or Orlando, his insistence that he be buried in Puerto Rico, where he was born, forced a move back to his hometown of Mayaguez, PR so that it was assured that he is remembered forever in the place that holds so much meaning in his heart.

I hope that I will be able to do the same, I literally and figuratively want to put down roots where I will not be forgotten. I am planning to live in Chicago for the rest of my life, but I hope wherever I find myself from here on out, that my family will honor my wishes to be buried in the sweet sandy, clay soil of Chicago. Maybe in Graceland Cemetery.

True Chicagoans Pay For Parking Now

Yes it is true, I now have to pay for parking downtown. I can't get away from it. I think Katie and I have funded the municipal pension fund through our numerous parking tickets. Daley, you and your alderman have beaten us, the common Chicagoan, down with your schemes to make more money. We submit, we will have pay for parking downtown, no way around it.

Ice Skating

Yesterday I went ice skating with Liam. We tried Millenium Park but the line was 45 minutes long to get skates. Thank God I remembered that nine parks around the city have skating, it just so happens that just two block east, the park at Richard J. Daley Bicentennial Plaza has a rink. Just a 5 minute wait for skates. Getting them on a 3 year old is a different story. That took about 20 minutes.
We had one of the most memorable times this break. Liam loved skating and slipping while I held him up by his shoulders. The skyline looked stunning. On a way back we found one of the best shots of the skyline I have seen in a long time. If you can, check out the bridge over the Ashland EL stop on the Green Line.

Ft. Hood Massacre

One of the stories coming out of this tragedy is the murder of a 21 year old soldier that was three months pregnant. Turns out she lived three blocks away from our house on Kamerling. Sad.Pray for her family.

Nate's B-Day Tour

Today's Itinerary:

1. Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral and Rectory

Designed to resemble the Russian provincial churches known to its first parishioners, this elegant church is an unexpected feature of its neighborhood. Even more surprising is the fact that its construction was partially paid for by Russian Czar Nicholas II. The walls of the church are load-bearing brick covered with stucco; the detailing of the two-story rectory repeats the same sinuous curve found in the roofline of the church. The ideologies held by the client and the designer harmonized well in this project, producing one of the most-inspired, small-scale works of influential architect Louis Sullivan.

Ukrainian Catholic Church

Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Closed didn't go in.

Ate lunch at Mr. Beef on Orleans

2. First Baptist Congregational Church

Address: 60 N. Ashland Ave.
Year Built: 1871
Architect: Gurdon P. Randall

Social activism has characterized this congregation since its founding in 1851 by abolitionists. The innovative, amphitheater-style auditorium within this Gothic Revival-style building was widely influential in church architecture. The adjacent Carpenter Chapel was designed by Otis Wheelock and built in 1869 for the Chicago Theological Seminary. Closed, didn't go.

Stockyards Gate

Bubbly Creek

Pope’s Visit - Five Holy Martyrs Church 4327 S. Richmond St - Couldn't find it.

Englewood

Pullman District 11141 South Cottage Grove Avenue

In 1880, George Pullman commissioned architect Solon S. Beman to design the perfect industrial town, a landscaped haven complete with indoor plumbing and gas facilities. However, his utopia did not last. When an economic panic hit, Pullman had to reduce his workers' hours and wages, causing a bloody strike (the first organized one in U.S, history) to erupt in 1894. Today, much of the town remains intact, although a recent fire gutted one of its main buildings. This is a must-see for anyone with an interest in urban histories, planning or the workers' movement in America. You can wander around Pullman any time, but it is best seen on one of a variety of tours offered throughout the year. Awesome.

3. K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Temple

Address: 1100 E. Hyde Park Blvd.
Year Built: 1924, addition, 1926
Architect: Alfred S. Alschuler

This building, based on Byzantine-style design precedents, houses the oldest Jewish congregation in Chicago. The first Jewish settlers in the city organized Kehilath Anshe Maariv in 1847; Isaiah Israel had its roots in the city's second Jewish congregation, which was founded in 1852. In 1971, the two merged to form K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Temple.

Obama’s House-

5046 S Greenwood Ave

Chicago, IL 60615- Secret service kicked us off the sidewalk. Got to see Obama's house briefly.

Nation of Islam- Louis Farrakhan’s house

4855 S Woodlawn Ave

Get Directions

- Area served: - Show

Category:

Unverified listing

Kenwood District, Oakland District- Farrakhan wasn't home

4. Pilgrim Baptist Church

Address: 3301 S. Indiana Ave.r
Year Built: 1890-1891
Architect: Adler & Sullivan

The decorative and planning skills of architect Louis H. Sullivan, along with the engineering abilities of Dankmar Adler, are embodied in the strong masonry forms of this building, which is embellished with terra-cotta panels of intricate foliage designs. The dramatic interior of the church contains similar ornament. Built as Kehilath Anshe Ma' ariv synagogue, the building has housed the Pilgrim Baptist Church since 1922. During the 1930s, this congregation and its longtime music director, Thomas A. Dorsey, were instrumental in the development of gospel music. Among those who sang here were: Mahalia Jackson, Sallie Martin, James Cleveland, and the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Destroyed in a fire.

4. Quinn Chapel

Address: 2401 S. Wabash Ave.
Year Built: 1892
Architect: Henry F. Starbuck

This church houses Chicago's oldest African-American congregation, which traces its origins back to 1844, when seven individuals formed a nondenominational prayer group that met in the house of one of its members. In 1847, the group organized as a congregation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Named for Bishop William P. Quinn, the church played an important role in the city's abolitionist movement. After the Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed the original church, the congregation met for many years in temporary locations. The congregation purchased the present site in 1890, and the current church is a reminder of the late-19th century character of the area. Didn't go.

6. Second Presbyterian Church

Address: 1936 S. Michigan Ave.
Year Built: 1874, reconstructed in 1900
Architects: Howard Van Doren Shaw,James Renwick

When this Gothic Revival-style church was designed--by a prominent New York architect-- the surrounding streets, including Prairie Avenue, one block east, were lined with the homes of wealthy Chicagoans. Members of the congregation included the Glessners, the Pullmans, and the widow of President Abraham Lincoln. The interior decorations include stained-glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany. A fire in 1900 destroyed much of the church, but it was reconstructed under the supervision of architect Howard Van Doren Shaw. Didn't go

Douglas Blvd.- Saw old Synagogues turned Baptist churches

Homan Sqaure- Saw the original Sears Tower

Rio wins the Olympics

I knew Rio was going to win. That South America has never had a Olympics sceeemed to seemed to be a convincing argument. As much as am happy that Daley didn't get his Olympics, and that he will come back to Chicago with a rare defeat, and have to face the voters in 2011, I am sorta disappointed that we didn't get to showcase our beautiful city to the world and finally rid our city of an international reputation of a city of tommy-gun toting gangsters, the home of Micheal Jordan's restaurant, and Jerry Springer.

Rock Starr

Tomorrow I am going to play Rock Band: Beatles

U2

Just went to a U2 concert at Soldier Field with Ryan Steingard. It was awesome. Elevation, Vertigo, Beautiful Day, Where the Streets Have No Name, With Or Without You, awesome live. Only have been to three in my life before, Ringo Starr and his All-Starr band, They Might Be Giants, and Jurassic 5. This was the biggest concert I've ever been to in my life.

This is......

Today was a great day. I went running at the lake, came home, prayed at church; the sun was shining through the stained glass, cam home cleaned the block and alley with a motley crew of neighbors, harangued local businesses, in English and Spanish, for not cleaning up their dumpster areas, built a storage shelf, hung out with my beautiful Ava, walked around the block with her, came back, took Liam with me to Land of Nod to buy Ava a teether, went to Trader Joe's, Liam did all of the shopping in his mini cart, went to Costco bought some diapers and wipes, drove home, ate enchiladas, gave Li a bath, read him stories, put him to bed, ate brownies at Beth and Charlie's downstairs, read online news articles, watched the movie trailer for Black Dynamite, began writing this blog.

The big news though is that I found some books that will add to my eventual book, that I haven't written yet, called Urban Imagery: For Kids. Sorta an urban planning and visual arts guide for parents that want to expose their kids in all things urban. So at Land of Nod, a yuppie kids store, I found a whole bunch of books written and illustrated by a Czech artist named Miroslav Sasek. He published very unique children's books under the name, This is......, that guide them through major urban centers of the world. Each one captures the hustle and bustle of each city at a certain moment in time, the sixties, and matches it with whimsical, stylized, comical, water colored illustrations. Check for yourself. Beautiful artwork.

Save the Pioneer Bank

Our nieghborhood is a former bright light aka theater district, and major trolley line stop. North Avenue/Pulaski Avenue, formerly North/Crawford was home at least five major theaters, hotels, restaurants, and bars, in addition to many mom and pop stores catering to locals, and still does today. The shopping district from Pulaski Rd. to Grand Avenue retains a largeley unbroken True Chicago urban streetscape, while one of the major theaters, the Tiffin, has been demolished, the five story Pioneer Savings and Trust Bank on the northeast corner of North and Pulaski remains a major landmark. Although it is a landmark in a spatial sense, it is not designated a landmark formally. It was nominated last year, but for purely pragmatic reasons, it probably will be difficult to market if strict landmark rules are applied to the building, negotiations between the landmark commission and the developer who owns the property have broken down. My guess is that developer generically develop into condos, however if they took a pulse of the community, they might find that people want to preserve our built history and maybe a library or community arts center can make use of a landmarked building. Anyone interested in preserving the built environment of the North Pulaski area can contact me at wsmilj1@gmail.com or call 637-2781 0r 794-3095.

Restorative Justice

"Restorative Justice is a philosophy that seeks to bring together all of the stakeholders (victim, offender, and community) to work together to address the harms and needs of those affected by a harm. Restorative Justice also seeks to engage the community in the process and to give a voice to the victim."

There is a block club here on this block. I am the president of the club, the 2nd. We are part of a greater network of block clubs called The Block Club Federation. The people in our house moved in five years ago, the following spring our neighbor Maria, the former block president, approached us to organize the block club. It happened, Dave became the 1st president and we began working on creating block clean-ups, consistent meetings, tree plantings, an annual block party, a tutoring center, a mural, speed bumps, new sidewalks and curbs, Halloween and Christmas Parties, backyard movies, Ladies Time Out, barbeque's, football and basketball leagues. We've organized for new streets, against prostitutes and johns leaving their used condoms in our grass, heroin users carelessly leaving their used needles in our childrens' play areas, we've fought for greater police presence, and have built partnerships with the alderman and other organizations to create a better community. It has come rather fluid and organically and without pomp and circumstance. We're just a bunch of neighbors that have coalesced as friends under a greater purpose, of creating a safe place to live for our kids and provide a forum for people to express whatever they want about improving our community and building on the assets we already have here.

It all sounds great but it has at times been tedious, depressing, slow, discouraging, confusing, seemingly worthless. Really we're part of something bigger than us individually, but individualistically speaking, it's taken a toll. But, we take this seriously. We are cognizant that building community, organizing a community, and doing community is hard work. You feel a responsibility to be involved in all the action on the block. Sometimes it can be unhealthy psychologically and emotionally. We've had to persevere through racism, classism, and claims of elitism, that we've used our power to undermine the staus quo of the hood. Some have claimed " passive-aggressive white take over", others have equated the community building as " Hernando Cortez overthrowing the Aztecs." However, nothing has been so trying as negotiating with our new neighbors for peace and quiet. It has been an undertaking of massive proportions and a masterful finesse of street negotiation and formal round table discussions that our block and our next door neighbors have come to an understanding of what our block stands for and what is acceptable and not acceptable here on Keystone. While some here had the power to "make the problem go away", we decided as neighbors to invite the next door neighbors to the block club meetings, so that we could air our concerns and they could speak for themselves.

In the initial meetings people either didn't speak up or they brought up generalities about problems on our block. We all agreed that when we saw people from other blocks, gang bangers, or randoms we weren't familiar with on our next door neighbors porch we'd talk to our neighbors directly. That didnt work. Young people, sometimes upwards of 25, would not listen to the adults, and the problem persisted. The next meeting we were directed to call the police. That didn't work. Soon more kids were coming around. Gangbangers started recruiting some of them, two guys set up shop selling weed down the block, next door was ground zero for customers and the hang out where adults couldn't intervene successfully.

We had another meeting. The voices in the club started getting louder, accustations became more pointed. So we attempted to address the situation by contacting the landlord. That created days of peace, then, like kids who start trouble when they think no one is looking, the problems began in earnest. Which led to more calls to the landlord, calls to the police, etc.

The last draw was this past meeting, last month, it was advertised a week prior, and come the day of the meeting, the victims ( the block) came out en masse, the offenders( our next door neighbors) brought an advocate to speak, to defend their side of the story and air out grievances about people calling the cops, their landlord, and (rumored) alderman about their house. At first, their advocate acted as if we had it out for them. Five people piped up at the same time and defended the actions of the block, and indicated that it was our next door neighbors that gave us the action steps to take if they were screaming at the top of their lungs until 3 am, or if 25 random kids were tearing up the block, smashing car windows or tagging up our community mural. It was the block members that called out the parents of the kids from next door to step up and be parents, if they too, really wanted the problems, that stemmed from their house, to stop, then they needed to step up. Seemed kinda harsh, but for all the negative attention that was put on our next door neighbors, I think they got to finally hear and believe all that the block has been implying for the past couple months. " We've got values and norms on this block, and either your with us or against us. And if your against us, we're organized, and your going to have a lot of heat applied to you, and if you don't like it, well, buy in to what's established here or leave." And I think we heard what they have been implying, "It's hard for us to change things so fast, we ain't use to a block that is organized, we're use to getting buck wild, so it's gunna take some time. So quit calling the police every single move we make". The community spoke, the community heard each other, things have gotten better. As many of the stakeholders as we could get were at the table negotiating how to live together on the block, peacefully. Rich, poor, white, black, Latino, old, young, renters, owners, unemployed, employed, trying to be neighbors. We've grown as a block. This is my example of, though not perfect, actually, ugly and dirrrty, restorative justice.

Reading Rainbo

I'm rereading The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros so that I can read it to my students this coming school year. The house on Mango street was not a real house or in a real neighborhood in Chicago, but a mishmash of ideas, feelings, and impressions Cisneros had living on streets near here; Keeler, Campbell, Loomis, Wabansia, Paulina, as well as stories her students told here while teaching in Pilsen. Personally, I love this book. I can sit all day and try and express the feel of my neighborhood good and bad, in poetic, romantic ways, but it is not nearly as striking as the rich tapestry of emotions, experiences, and imagery that Cisneros weaves throughout the book. Check it out.