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Breaking News: Back on Track at Amtrak and Metra

2013-05-19T15:14:30Z

UPDATE: At 12:33 p.m. an Amtrak engine pulled the disabled train off and away from the Clark and 16th St. site of the stall. At 12:45, Metra trains were able to run out north and south on unobstructed tracks. The engine that was originally pulling the Amtrak train was taken away, and a big workhorse [...]

The post Breaking News: Back on Track at Amtrak and Metra appeared first on Chicagotalks.

Recapping NATO Summit in Chicago: One Year Ago

2013-05-18T22:15:27Z

Last year, Chicago hosted the NATO summit. Our reporters were there, live and on the ground. Many of our reporters will be graduating this week and so we pause to showcase their fine work. NATO stories and coverage was pulled together by Professor Teresa Puente and Steve Franklin in a special topics class. Look back [...]

The post Recapping NATO Summit in Chicago: One Year Ago appeared first on Chicagotalks.

Karen Lewis wins second term as CTU president

2013-05-18T02:45:35Z

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis has announced that she won a second term in Friday's election, garnering 80 percent of the votes in preliminary results.

The election was a referendum on how well Lewis' leadership and the Caucus of Rank and File Educators handled the fall's teacher strike and contract negotiations.

The opposition caucus, Coalition to Save Our Union, charged that Lewis put style and big-picture promises over substance and results.

But many teachers said that Lewis' leadership during the strike, when she went head-to-head with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, proved decisive in their decisions to vote for her.

“You need a force like Karen Lewis to get in the face of the mayor,” said Emily Rosenberg, director of DePaul University's Labor Education Center and a supporter of Lewis. “She can't be bullied.”

As the union's biggest battle yet over school closings drags on, Rosenberg says the election “gives a signal to the whole city that (teachers are) solidly behind her, and that there's going to be a struggle.”

Funeral Services for Ronald Baskin

2013-05-16T18:00:00Z

Funeral Services for Ronald L. Baskin, 21 year old grand nephew of long time community and anti violence activist Hal Baskin will be held Saturday, May 25, 2013 at St. Stephens Lutheran Church located 6458 S. Peoria St. Chicago, IL 60621. The wake will be from 11:00am – 12:00 pm with the funeral following from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. There will be a visitation Friday evening at A.R Leaks Funeral Home 7838 S. Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL 60619.

Hal Baskin is still asking for calm and peace, especially with the onset of warm weather. The family is asking anybody with any details or leads in this senseless killing to turn the information over to the Chicago Police Department. If anyone has information and wants to remain anonymous they can call (773) 236-0258. They can leave information, no questions will be asked.

Englewood Renters Left Without Electricity, Gas Due To Foreclosure: 'We Were Left In The Dark' (VIDEO)

2013-05-17T18:00:00Z

Eight members of the Shaw family, including a 14 month-old baby, have been living without gas or electricity for nearly a week, according to parents Shantisha and Ezekiel. Their two-bedroom garden apartment in Englewood, on Chicago’s South Side, is flooding and has mold damage. The two apartments above them are vacant, with broken and boarded-up windows.

“We can’t live like this any more,” said Shantisha Shaw, 36, regarding the home she’s shared with her family since February 2011. A stroke survivor, Shantisha is permanently disabled and lives with her husband and six children.

The Shaw’s landlord was foreclosed upon last year and Freedom Mortgage Corp. took over the deed for the building on December 14, as indicated by the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court.

But neither Shantisha, nor her husband, Ezekiel Shaw, said they were notified the building was being foreclosed upon. They said they were not given a 90-day notice to vacate, nor were they provided any instructions indicating where they should send their monthly $550 rent — which includes utilities — following the foreclosure.

The Shaws say they were not provided with any landlord or contact information pertaining to who would be responsible for maintaining the property after the foreclosure.

“We’ve been left in the dark, literally,” said Ezekiel, 45. “What are we supposed to do?”

He said he’s been given the run-around:

In February the Shaws received an eviction notice from Pierce & Associates, a leading Chicago-based foreclosure law firm.

“Demand is hereby made upon you for immediate surrender of possession of the above premises,” the February 4 letter, identifying Pierce & Associates as attorneys for Freedom Mortgage, states.

“But we don’t have any money, I don’t know what they expect us to do,” said Shantisha.

She said the building's utilities were shut off last week and “it’s been like hell”:

It is under these conditions that the Shaw family is receiving support from the Keep Chicago Renting Coalition, which hosted a press conference and rally this week outside the family’s home at 6936 South Green St.

According to the group, city law — the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance — requires that landlord notify renters about foreclsoure filings within seven days of the legal action. The coalition also notes that the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law obligates those who take over foreclosures to notify renters of their acquisition of the property within 21 days of securing it. None of this happened in the case of the Shaw family. Additionally, Pierce & Associates should have given the Shaw family 90 days to vacate the premises, the coalition alleges, as mandated by the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009.

The coalition of community, social service and labor organizations also alleges that Freedom Mortgage violated the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance by failing to maintain the property after they acquired ownership.

“We want Freedom Mortgage to assume responsibility as new owners of the property, and we need Pierce & Associates to apply best practices regarding renters’ rights,” said Dan Kleinman, policy director for Action Now. “When a law-abiding tenant is willing and able to continue paying rent, they deserve the opportunity to keep their lease. And if the bank absolutely refuses, they need to provide a form of compensation that dignifies what the renter is going through.”

The group has reached out to the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Kleinman said officials expressed interest in helping the coalition pursue the correct means of redress for the Shaw family.

“We need to send a clear message to, not only banks, but the legal firms that represent them, that the law has to be followed and renters’ rights have to be respected,” he said.

Kleinman accused Pierce & Associates of “constructive eviction”, which is the illegal practice of rendering a property uninhabitable in the interest of persuading a tenant to leave the premesis on their own volition.

“The Shaws have done nothing wrong,” he said, noting the buildings’ other tenants have already been “scared out.”

He added that if, or when, the Shaws leave their home, the building stands to sit vacant and potentially depreciate property values in the neighborhood and provide a haven for crime and vandalism.

Meanwhile, Patricia Fron, buildings program administrator for the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing, said banks fighting against establishing a landlord-tenant relationship is a popular trend in the Chicagoland area.

“We’ve found that it’s common practice for banks — they don’t want to be landlords,” she said, adding financial institutions most likely don’t want to be held responsible for property maintenance.

Fron agreed with Kleinman that Pierce & Associates are practicing “constructive eviction.” She said the “intimidating” eviction letter and shut off of utilities was an “effort to constructively evict the tenants from their homes instead of taking them through the proper eviction channels.”

The Lawyers Committee for Better Housing is a member of the Keep Chicago Renting Coalition, as is the Albany Park Neighborhood Council; Action Now; the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council; the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless; the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization; the Logan Square Neighborhood Association; the Metropolitan Tenants’ Organization; SEIU*-HCII; and Unite Here Local 1.

But Fron said she, and the coalition, are not entirely sure why banks recoil at the the idea of tenant-landlord relationships. From their perspective, she said, it would seem to make more sense to continue the renting relationship:

Participants in Wednesday’s demonstration outside the Shaw’s home, said the family’s situation underscores Chicago’s need for the Keep Chicago Renting Ordinance.

The proposed ordinance, introduced in July by lead sponsor Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), would require additional notifications to renters and extend leases when a building is foreclosed upon.

The proposal, which has veeb endorsed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, would also require lenders who acquire foreclosed buildings to either pay tenants $12,000 per unit to move or maintain the renters’ lease until the building is sold, with a maximum 2 percent rent increase from year-to-year.

"This compromise ordinance ensures that tenants maintain their rights if their building is foreclosed," Kathleen Strand, a spokesman for Emanuel’s office, told the Chicago Tribune. "Under current law, renters do not have long-term security and receive no assistance with the costs associated with relocation once their building enters foreclosure.

The legislation has 43 co-sponsors and sits in the Chicago City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate. According to the Keep Chicago Renting Coalition, the bill will likely see a vote by the city council on June 5.

“The Keep Chicago Renting ordinance would help keep families, like the Shaw family, in their homes while avoiding further vacant properties in our city,” said Diane Limas, president of theAlbany Park Neighborhood Council, during Wednesday’s press conference.

Limas said the ordinance holds banks and their affiliates accountable for their actions. She accused lenders, like Freedom Mortgage, of not caring about tenants:

For now, the Shaw family said they have no choice but to wait. Ezekiel is an out-of-work chef and Shantisha can’t work due to her disability. They said they can’t afford to move, and have already spent a sizeable portion of their savings.

A representative from Pierce & Associates could not be reached for comment.

Kleinman called the Shaw family “innocent victims” of a broken system.

Ezekiel said he hopes the Keep Chicago Renting Coalition helps his family get the utilities turned back on.

If the utilities are not turned back on, Ezekiel says “we really don’t know” what to do next:

Union election: Karen Lewis vs. challenger, strike gains vs. contract losses

2013-05-17T17:04:54Z

Almost buried in the whirlwind of news on school closings is the Chicago Teachers Union election, in which challenger Tanya Saunders-Wolffe is seeking to oust current President Karen Lewis.

Voting kicked off today, and early results may be released as soon as this evening.

Saunders-Wolffe, a guidance counselor at Jesse Owens Elementary on the Far South Side, is waging an uphill battle to unseat Lewis, harnessing dissatisfaction among many teachers with the latest union contract.

Saunders-Wolffe has also criticized Lewis and the current leadership team for their tactics against the district and City Hall.

“We have to give [teachers] a voice from the table. We can’t just keep screaming from the streets,” Saunders-Wolffe told Catalyst Chicago in March.

“We have done so many school visits. Teachers are really unhappy with the contract,” said Mary Ellen Sanchez, opposition candidate for recording secretary, who was outside Byrne Elementary in Garfield Ridge this morning. Sanchez teaches 3^rd grade at Byrne.

Candidates on Saunders-Wolffe’s opposition slate, the Coalition to Save Our Union, are pledging to focus more on member services, which they charge have fallen by the wayside as Lewis’ team, the Caucus of Rank and File Educators, focuses on organizing. Organizing is a major component of CORE’s strategy, as Lewis’ team led the CTU through a week-long teachers’ strike last fall, Chicago’s first in 25 years. Immediately after the strike, CORE switched gears to fight school closings through protests and partnerships forged with community and parent groups.

The Coalition also wants to rebuild the union’s bridges with district management, despite a relationship that has grown increasingly bitter in recent years.

At Byrne, teachers enumerated the issues that swayed them to support the Coalition, many of them boiling down to unhappiness with the contract: longer days and hours that the pay raise didn’t make up for, a cut to paid before-school prep time, and an agreement to drop litigation over the contractually promised 4 percent raises that teachers didn’t get during the 2011-2012 school year.

“People were getting scared [because] the strike was too long,” and thus gave in too much at the negotiating table, said librarian Mary Beth Corbin. She also complained that even though the contract ended up including incentives to participate in a wellness plan, and even teachers who are participating are being charged due to bureaucratic snafus.

Scott Worden, Byrne’s special education teacher, said he was undecided but also felt the contract left much to be desired. “With the strike, I don’t think we gained anything,” Worden said. “No matter who’s in charge, we always lose something as teachers. The board’s going to win, because they’re going to sneak something in.”

At Kenwood Academy High School in Hyde Park, many teachers said they supported CORE and cited Lewis’ handling of the strike.

“I trust the leaders who led us through the strike to carry us through another year,” said science teacher Barbara Richter. Coreen Uhl, another staff member at the school, said Lewis “did a great job representing us during the strike, so I’ll be taking that into account.”

Added history teacher Shannon League: “I don’t think we could have asked for much more. In negotiations, you have to give a little.”

JRT Tech Assessment

2013-05-17T18:00:00Z

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Opinion: Sports movies portrayals of black men not right

2013-05-17T14:05:55Z

No matter the year or the reception, the depiction of black men in sports movies is far from accurate. Favorites like Remember the Titans, Glory Road and The Blind Side all tell the story of the black man’s struggle to find success in the sports world. But how accurate are these movies? How does football accurately show [...]

The post Opinion: Sports movies portrayals of black men not right appeared first on Chicagotalks.

In the News: CPS' use of selective data questioned

2013-05-17T13:09:11Z

A Chicago Tribune review of documents related to Chicago Public Schools closings raises questions about how district officials used information to promote and defend its plan. In many cases, the district appears to have selectively highlighted data to stress shortcomings at schools to be closed, while not pointing out what was lacking at the receiving schools.

NO FAN OF MAYOR'S PLAN: In an exclusive interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle broadly criticized Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s education agenda Thursday, saying the Chicago Public Schools teachers’ strike last year had provided the excuse for a sweeping school-closure plan that “weakens our public schools.”

THE LONG WALK: A Tribune analysis of a database used by CPS to calculate the average distance students affected by school closings will have to travel to their reassigned school next year shows the average walk will be almost twice as far as it is now, increasing from about a third of a mile to nearly six-tenths of a mile.

DERAILING STUDENTS: Nearly 100,000 Chicago Public Schools students would have to find a new way to get to class starting next week, once the CTA shuts down the south end of the Red Line for a major track overhaul. According to the CTA, 98,000 students at 370 CPS schools would be affected by the reconstruction of the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line, which is set to begin on Sunday. (CBS Chicago)

TURNAROUND CONCERNS: Parents and members of the Chicago Teachers Union stormed the steps outside the Academy of Urban School Leadership’s office Thursday and raised concerns over the Chicago Public Schools’ plan to turnaround six schools at the end of the academic year. CPS wants to fire and replace staff members at Clara Barton Elementary, William W Carter Elementary, Dewey Elementary Academy of Fine Arts, and Isabelle C O'Keeffe Elementary schools on the South Side and Thomas Chalmers Specialty Elementary and Leslie Lewis Elementary schools on the West Side as part of its recent round of school actions. AUSL would take over all six schools. The Chicago Board of Education will vote on the possible turnarounds and other school actions May 22. (Progress Illinois)

PODCASTS FOR POLICYMAKERS: The University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research is debuting a new podcast series, Ed. Research Matters, which will take a closer look at UChicago CCSR research, focusing on the findings that matter most for policymakers and practitioners. In the premiere episode, UChicago CCSR researcher Eliza Moeller, discusses From High School to the Future: The Challenege of Senior Year, released in February.

Crime Scene Chicago comes to West Side

2013-05-17T13:55:15Z

A sequel to the popular Collaboraction Theatre Chicago performance on violence in the city tours to Austin Town Hall Park.

The post Crime Scene Chicago comes to West Side appeared first on AustinTalks.

Tenant group sues Chicago Housing Authority

2013-05-17T18:00:00Z

WBEZ/Katie O'Brien

Displaced tenants of Cabrini Green filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Housing Authority in an effort to return to their neighborhood after redevelopment.

After the last iconic tower fell, the Cabrini Green row houses were all that remained of the public-housing complex.

Its residents should have been able to return after the row houses were renovated.

But only a quarter of the 586 units were rehabbed.

Elizabeth Rosenthal represents the Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council. She explained that residents stand to lose much more than fair housing.

“It’s an area of opportunity. It has access to good schools, access to jobs, it’s on public transportation lines--there’s that new Target going right there,” Rosenthal expanded.

In response, CHA spokesperson Wendy Parks stressed that there are no fixed plans for the Cabrini homes in question.

“We have said in the past that we are committed to adhering to the needs of CHA residents. We did not specifically state what that would look like with regard to revitalization of Cabrini homes,” Parks said.

The agency plans to invite CHA residents and area stakeholders to provide input on any proposed plan for the area--no date for those meetings has been set.

Other Coverage

1. 05/16/13 WLS - Cabrini-Green residents sue CHA over renovated units

2. 05/16/13 DNAinfo Chicago - CHA Broke Promise to Rehab Cabrini Rowhouses, Lawsuit Alleges

3. 05/16/13 Emanuel's CHA plan challenged

4. 05/16/13 Housing Coalition Criticizes Giveaway to Private Developers

CHA Broke Promise to Rehab Cabrini Rowhouses, Lawsuit Alleges

2013-05-16T18:00:00Z

CABRINI-GREEN — A community group of some of the last public housing tenants in the Cabrini-Green rowhouses has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Housing Authority, claiming the CHA reneged on a promise to keep hundreds of housing units.

The residents of those 440 rowhouse units, which are now fenced in and boarded up, agreed to temporary relocate in 2008 so that their homes could be fixed up, but construction never started.

Now, the Francis Cabrini Rowhouses are likely to be torn down and turned into mixed income housing, while those who had agreed to temporarily move away are left out to dry.

Continue

Cabrini-Green residents sue CHA over renovated units

2013-05-16T18:00:00Z

May 16, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Long-time tenants are suing the Chicago Housing Authority for allegedly reneging on pledges to return them to their neighborhood after redevelopment.

The Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council filed its lawsuit in federal court today.

Chicago has been demolishing or renovating public housing for years to provide poorer residents more livable conditions.

The lawsuit says the CHA renovated a quarter of the Cabrini units -- then set aside just a small portion for public housing.

The council wants them all designated for public housing.

"Public housing in not a bad word. Public housing is a safety net that needs to be preserved, rehabilitated or built new," said Jessie Avraham, from the Chicago Housing Initiative.

"The agency is working with a planner and the Near North Working Group to develop a plan for the future of Cabrini -- including the row homes," the CHA said in a statement.

Housing Coalition Criticizes Giveaway to Private Developers

2013-05-15T18:00:00Z

Titus Kerby, Lathrop resident and leader, addresses the press.

Liz Brake, Jane Addams Senior Caucus leader

“Mostly federal money, state money, city money. At Oakwood Shores, the developer has $100 in equity and a $345,000 mortgage loan. The rest is public money,” said Brake. Liz Brake crunched numbers for the Jane Adams Senior Caucus and asserts the CHA’s public private partnership is basically privateprofit on public money.

Brake says after 30 years of affordable rents, new CHA developments will revert to private control for the following 69 years, a plan the Chicago Housing Initiative likens to the city’s parking meter deal.

The Initiative seeks leasing of now vacant apartments to ease the backlog of 60,000 families seeking CHA housing plus an end to CHA privatization plans.

Emanuel's CHA plan challenged

2013-05-15T18:00:00Z

UPDATED – While Cabrini Row House residents prepare to challenge CHA plans for mixed-income development, CHA resident leaders and housing advocates are questioning Mayor Emanuel’s update to the agency’s Plan For Transformation.

The Cabrini-Green Local Advisory and supporters will hold a press conferenceThursday morning (May 16 at 9:30 a.m., 530 W. Locust) to announce “a new initiative to protect the Carini Row Houses,” according to a release from the Legal Assistance Foundation.

Row House residents have called on CHA to fulfill the promise in the original PFT to rehabilitate the development as 100 percent public housing; that plan was put on hold in 2011.

Meanwhile, resident leaders and community organizations called on the CHA board to reject the mayor’s plan and return to the drawing board — and to heed input from the public, including an emphasis on preservation and rehab of existing units rather than subsidizing private development as the most cost-effective way to meet CHA’s obligations.

The Central Advisory Council, comprised of elected leaders of CHA developments, criticized the mayor’s plan for lacking specifics on how CHA will complete construction of replacement housing and ensure families of their right to return to homes they were displaced from.

Few proposals from CAC’s detailed Strategies and Recommendations Report issued last year were incorporated in the mayor’s plan, the group said.

They called for reforming security programs which “harass law-abiding residents” but fail to make developments safe, and for elected representation for public housing residents living in mixed-income developments.

The Chicago Housing Initiative, consisting of community organizations representing tenants of subsidized housing, challenged Emanuel’s claim that 85 percent of the PFT’s promised 25,000 replacement units have been provided. With thousands of rehabbed units remaining vacant, “the number [of occupied replacement units] is closer to 18,000,” said Leah Levinger of CHI.

Last year the group revealed that CHA receives millions of dollars in operating funds from HUD for units it has failed to lease out.

Under pressure from HUD, CHA has begun leasing vacant units in scattered-site housing, but in some cases the agency is limiting it to residents making 50 to 80 percent of area median income, Levinger said. One speaker yesterday was a Wal-Mart worker turned away from public housing for not having a high enough income to live in public housing.

Levinger drew parallels between the Emanuel’s plan to step up investment in private developments and the parking meter privatization deal. The PFT’s mixed-income developments have been a “massive transfer of assets to private control,” at great benefit to private developers but with little advantage to taxpayers and the public.

Typical “public-private partnerships” involve 95 percent public financing, no developer equity, and millions of dollars in up-front development fees, she said. In return, private developers control the land with a 99-year lease, while affordability agreements only extend for 15 to 30 years.

And according to CHI, public-private mixed-income records have a poor record of meeting housing production goals. At seven development where over 5,000 units were promised by developers, less than half were ever provided.

The CAC and CHI are calling for preserving and renovating existing public housing stock, including Lathrop Homes, Cabrini Row Houses, Altgeld Gardens and West Haven Homes, and rebuilding housing for displaced families at Ickes Homes, LeClaire Courts, Cabrini-Green, and the State Street corridor.

UPDATE – CHA has issued the following statement:

“As part of Chicago Housing Authority’s new strategic initiative, ‘Plan Forward: Communities that Work,’ CHA is committed to building strong, vibrant communities throughout Chicago. Currently, the agency is working with a planner and the Near North Working Group to develop a plan for the future of Cabrini, including the row homes. However, CHA has not announced any decision on the future of the row homes. In the coming months, CHA will invite CHA residents and area neighbors to provide their input on our proposed plan for the revitalization of Cabrini. Our goal is to increase the quality of life and economic opportunities for CHA residents and the entire community.”

New group wants Chicagoans to ‘rethink trash’

2013-05-16T20:30:32Z

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The Mayor’s office and the Office of Streets and Sanitation Department, revealed a new garbage transition plan last month, but they aren’t the the only organization “rethinking trash”. This garbage transition basically entails a new pick-up grid which will take aldermanic oversight of community trash across the city, and reorganize garbage pickup. The claims are [...]

The post New group wants Chicagoans to ‘rethink trash’ appeared first on Chicagotalks.

Jillian Michaels smashes myths, fears in Chicago

2013-05-16T19:00:49Z

Fitness guru Jillian Michaels says that when it comes to the top health problems in the United States – non-communicable diseases like Type 2 diabetes — “we make those ourselves.” Michaels, who spoke Friday night at Roosevelt University Auditorium, said Americans damage their health by eating cheap fast food. “You think you’re saving in the [...]

The post Jillian Michaels smashes myths, fears in Chicago appeared first on Chicagotalks.

This Tragedy Will Not Get Pimped!

2013-05-16T18:00:00Z

THIS TRAGEDY WILL NOT BE PIMPED!

Baskin family will not allow their tragedy to be used for personal gain!

In response to the meeting held in the name of their family member and an article written on DNAinfo.com, http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130514/englewood/volatile-atmosphere-brings-unity-after-south-side-shooting, the Baskin family calls the meeting held at the 7th district a dog and pony show. Speaking on behalf of the Baskin family, Keith Harris states, “ We found out about the meeting by an email posted to a yahoo group”. “Nobody spoke to Hal Baskin or any other family member regarding this or any other anti violence efforts”. How sincere is that?

How dare they use the death of a family member of one of Englewood’s longest and strongest anti-violence advocates to beg the Mayor or protect someone’s job. We, the Baskin Family, P.E.A.C.E, and Englewood Political Task Force (EPTF) are calling on these Clergy men and others masquerading as community leaders to stop using the tragedies of the Englewood community to further their personal agendas.

One of the reasons Hal has not spoken to the media is to not politicize this tragedy. It’s not about just his grand nephew, it’s about the countless young lives that have been lost throughout Chicago. If these so called leaders spent more time actually working in the community instead of jumping in front cameras, stroking their own egos and trying to win favor with the Mayor and other elected officials, maybe a difference could be made.

In the article, Commander Schmitz describes the neighborhood as volatile. We say the community has been volatile for a long time due to the economic violence that has been inflicted on Englewood. Resources have dried up. Schools have been underfunded and there are no jobs or business opportunities for the majority of Englewood residents. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out tensions would be high. Then you have these so called leaders using the unfortunate condition of Englewood for personal gain.

Peecher and Dukes need to tell the truth. They can’t stop anything, if they could Englewood wouldn’t have the problems it has. Besides the usual feel good marches, and after tragedy parades, where have they walked? P.E.A.C.E and Englewood Political Taskforce are out here every day and we have not seen them. We don’t come out just when a tragedy occurs. The quotes in the article are a joke and insincere. Our youth are dying and families are shattered and these people want to continue to propagate a lie. We can no longer and will no longer tolerate these ego driven, poverty/tragedy pimps in our community.

When the cameras are gone and police protection is gone, they are gone. We want to send a message to the Mayor and anyone else, the only people these preachers speak for or represent are the members of their congregations of who most don’t live in Englewood. They do not speak for the Englewood community and they should stop portraying themselves as doing so. If they are not advocating for an even distribution of resources, they need to sit down and shut up. Stop using the tragedies and misfortunes of the people of Englewood as a stepping-stone!

Keith Harris

May Day march in Chicago focuses on immigration reform

2013-05-14T19:24:05Z

Carl Rosen, a worker for the United Electrical Workers was one of hundreds of people who participated in a May Day march in downtown Chicago on May 1, calling for immigration reform. “We need to legalize the status of the 11 million undocumented workers that are here because otherwise they are being used to drive [...]

The post May Day march in Chicago focuses on immigration reform appeared first on Chicagotalks.

You've heard about an apple a day, but do you know about bananas?

2013-05-16T18:00:00Z

During times of intense stress most of our bodies react in particularly troubling ways. For me, it's random eye

twitching. After two weeks of watching me hold my eye, a friend suggested that much like the cause of any muscle spasm, I might be lacking potassium and should try eating bananas. Desperate, I did and lo and behold, the eye twitching stopped. I decided to do a little research on bananas, and found that the health benefits of bananas go beyond their potassium's help for muscle cramps and spasms.

Bananas can help with depression, enhance energy levels, aid the digestive system, and much more. They also make for a great and convenient snack!

Read more at 25 Power Reasons to Eat Bananas.