St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corporation - Latest news

Leaders urged to 'ask questions, ponder possibilities'

3/19/2007, 10:33 PM

Monday, March 19, 2007

Richard Muhammad

Participants pose with Gene Moreno, Chicago Rehab Network, following leadership development training.

Richard Muhammad

If isn’t often that the goal of a training session is to have participants asking more questions at the end than the beginning.

But that was the mission of Gene Moreno, director of policy for the Chicago Rehab Network, as she completed a March 17 training on “Understanding Policy and Legislation” for community residents and members of the Washington Park Neighborhood Association.

Moreno’s presentation was part of a series of trainings presented by St. Edmund’s Redevelopment Corp., the New Communities Program and the Washington Park Neighborhood Association. It was her second session with the group.

Moreno opened by telling community leaders that understanding the big picture is important to building power at the neighborhood level.

That big picture includes knowing what trends are happening in the community, what vehicles are available to impact development and change, what questions to ask, and who to go to for answers, Moreno said.

Moreno used census data and the Chicago Rehab Network’s “Affordable Housing Fact Book” to have residents review changes in income, housing stock, education and demographics in Washington Park.

Small group work was an important part of training sessions.

Richard Muhammad

“What do these changes mean to you?” she asked.

Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but numbers, such as a community’s population figures, can impact the inflow of resources, and numbers can point to positive or negative signs, Moreno said.

Reading different indicators for a community can help paint a picture of what is happening, she continued.

For example, figures for Washington Park showed lagging educational attainment, and a high rate of lead poisoning among children.

Lead poisoning affects a child’s ability to learn and is most often found in older housing, Moreno observed. One could conclude that a significant number of children are living in dilapidated housing, even as the community has lost housing stock, she said.

Reviewing city documents and maps also shows the exact boundaries of “official” neighborhoods as designated by the city and Cook County, she added.

Those boundaries determine what vehicles for changes and public access points exist, Moreno said. Washington Park is in a tax increment finance district, but who knows what is happening with area TIF money? she asked.

One north side alderman used TIF money guarantees to help limit risk for a developer who wanted to undertake a major project related affordable housing and economic development, said Moreno. The $10 million TIF money guarantee was used to leverage other loans, she said.

Reading numbers, drawing conclusions

Among some trends found in Washington Park were increases in White, Latino and Asian residents, increased homeownership and a fall in the African American population, though the area remains predominantly Black.

Trainees were divided into small groups and used anecdotal and statistical evidence to decipher changes in the community.

Community residents are learning to assert thier interests in Washington Park.

Richard Muhammad

Conclusions from the assessments from community members were interesting. Ed Chaney, a dentist, shared his group’s analysis. The group felt a “slow diversification” was taking place along racial lines and an influx of homeowners has brought greater stability and more resources.

Negatives included rising home insurance costs for longtime property owners and building owners called “new slum lords,” interested in renting to Section 8 voucher holders, but uninterested in impact on the quality of life.

Changes happen more quickly than census data shows, given new housing and other building projects can appear suddenly, Moreno said. Statistics show a slice of a community so even small numbers shouldn’t be ignored, she said.

Check out trends and pay special attention to increases, which can be harbingers of things to come, she advised.

Kelvin White, WPNA vice president, takes notes during session.

Richard Muhammad

Moreno urged participants to consider changes in nearby neighborhoods, because of shared schools, hospitals, grocery stores, bus lines and the same sanitation district. The impact can be positive or negative, she said.

“You can either make things happen or let things happen to you,” Moreno said.

Special delivery from the new alderman

3/16/2007, 4:28 PM

Friday, March 16, 2007

Richard Muhammad

The Washington Park Neighborhood Association received an unexpected “special delivery” when Alderman-elect Willie E. Cochran showed up at the group’s regular March meeting.

Alderman Willie Cochran addresses Washington Park Neighborhood Association as WPNA president Murray Johnson listens.

Richard Muhammad

The March 14 evening was supposed to be devoted to association elections, regular business and a dialog with U.S. Postal Service employees Stephanie Hartman, south side area manager of customer service and operations and Valerie Carter, manager for customer service for Jackson Park Station, about chronic problems with mail delivery.

Neither post office manager showed up.

And, Cochran, who was an unexpected participant at the meeting, was invited to share some thoughts and take some questions.

Cochran, who will officially be sworn-in May 21, started by saying that mail service problems weren’t limited to Washington Park and were found throughout the ward.

He shared the personal experience of having campaign materials returned to his office that he later had volunteers or paid workers deliver to the same addresses on envelopes, waving a stack of returned mail sent back to Tasha Baker, director of the New Communities Program in Washington Park.

Campaign mailings cost $6,000 to $10,000 apiece and trays of mail that should have gone to voters were returned, he said.

Time to come together

Shared problems are a reason why barriers between neighborhood in the 20^th Ward – which includes Woodlawn, Washington Park, parts of Englewood and the Back of the Yards communities – must be broken down, said Cochran.

“We have to come together as a community,” said the local businessman and former organizer for the New Communities Program in Woodlawn.

To help inform constituents and promote greater access and unity, Cochran announced rotating meetings would be held in different areas of his ward, and there would be a regular meeting at his ward office. A newsletter and monthly appearance of a local radio station will also keep people informed, Cochran said.

His plans include having a liaison for area churches in the 20^th Ward office.

It would be good to have leaders and organizations from different areas to come together, he said. “There are good things going on and we can strengthen one another. We have to become strong again,” Cochran said.

Positive work is being done across the ward, but you don’t hear about it, he added.

When it comes to tackling mail delivery and other problems, ward residents must go forward together, he argued. “We have to show our power as a community,” Cochran said.

Conversations about development underway

A representative from Harris Bank meets the new 20th Ward alderman.

Richard Muhammad

Cochran told the audience that his business outreach had already begun.

The huge number of vacant lots in the ward are opportunities for new development, he said.

Cochran added that a meeting with grocer Ultra Foods to discuss the possibility of opening a store in the 20^th Ward was scheduled.

Discussions with Wal-Mart and other businesses are also underway, he said.

Developers will come before community residents and share their plans for building in the ward and for supporting local schools, churches and civic organizations, Cochran said.

With the city’s bid for the 2016 Olympics, it’s time to talk to unions about training area residents for work, to the University of Chicago about expansion plans, and to get ready for a flurry of activity to fill those vacant lots, said Cochran. He added:

“We don’t want to look back 30 years from now and say what we should have done in 2007.”

In taking questions from WPNA members, Cochran asked for help compiling lists of young developers, construction companies, tradesmen and other businesses. From that list can come introductions and referrals for possible contracts, he said.

Protections for longstanding residents, especially senior citizens, need to be put in place to protect them from increased taxes and the negative impact of Olympic-driven development, Cochran said.

The role of community organizations

In an interview, Cochran also talked about the importance of organizations like the Washington Park Neighborhood Association, which hosted a candidates forum and a leadership training session he attended.

“Community organizations empower the people in the community and so I am an advocate of community organizations and community participation and listening to what the community has to say,” said Cochran.

“That’s the every reason I’m here tonight because I know how important it is to have contact with people. And I want to be accessible. I want to be able to listen to what the community is saying and I want to be able to responsive to those things,” he said.

Alderman Cochran reaches out to a constituent.

Richard Muhammad

Cochran added that his background in community organizing taught him why neighborhood groups are important.

“Community organizations can do a lot of work that needs to be done that can assist a public official in accomplishing goals that need to be accomplished. They are methods by which the community has a voice,” he said.

It’s good for residents to be more involved in community organizations and public processes, Cochran said.

More people need to get involved, he said.

Medical facility welcomes Washington Park residents

2/17/2007, 7:17 PM

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Richard Muhammad

When Dr. John Awah decided to open a medical center, he looked north and south, east and west. His decision to build the three-level Korle Bu Medical Center at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Garfield Boulevard, in Washington Park, drew cautions.

"You'll have problems with security, the area isn't a good location, don't do it," he was told.

Dr. John Awah and Genya Harley inside medical center created by the physician.

Richard Muhammad

The Ghanaian native and staff physician at two area hospitals didn't let the negative warnings affect him. He purchased the land and had the facility built from the ground up.

Judging from a tour that started in his office and encompassed all three levels of the first class facility, south side residents stand to benefit from his decision.

A photo in the lobby proclaims the traditional Ghanaian greeting "Akwaaba," or welcome.

Accompanied by marketing manager Genya Harley, Dr. Awah met with Tasha Baker, director of the New Communities Program in Washington Park, who welcomed him to the neighborhood.

She thanked him for his interest in serving Washington Park residents, including tenants in over 500 units of housing owned by St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corp., the NCP lead agency.

Baker discussed forming a partnership with Dr. Awah, and working together to inform residents about health issues and dispensing information at a health fair and other community-based events.

Elderly residents often don't have an understanding of prescribed medication and ask her for help, Baker said.

Baker talked to Dr. Awah on Jan. 31 about how to reach residents, the lack of medical care in the neighborhood, and offered to help spread the word about the services offered at Korle Bu Medical Center, which is pronounced "corley-boo." The facility opened in November 2006.

The Quality of Life Plan for Washington Park, which gives a roadmap for community redevelopment, is very strong on "brick and mortar," but lacking in its health focus, said Baker. She asked Dr. Awah to help improve the health part of the plan.

Baker was also impressed with the doctor's bedside manner as she overheard patients talking about the excellent treatment they received. Harley called the highly animated and energetic Baker "a blessing."

Having someone with knowledge of the community, who invites you in and offers to help make connections is important, she said.

"The idea of a comprehensive medical facility and location of the center was carefully selected due to its strategic position; a stand alone medical center in the community gives a sense of ownership to the local community," Harley said.

The facility, which looks deceptively small from the outside, houses a pharmacy, dental clinic, X-ray and other screening equipment, a sleep center, an eye clinic, weight loss clinic and multiple examination rooms. Dr. Awah calls it a hospital without the beds. Korle Bu is also the name of a hospital in Ghana.

Korle Bu Medical Center accepts various medical insurance plans and has a sliding fee scale, based on income, for those without medical coverage. Transportation to the medical center is available for patients.

Whether it's the music of Michael Jackson of the sounds of the late crooner Luther Vandross oozing out of speakers, flat screen TVs in waiting rooms, African or African American art that adorns the walls, the center makes a strong statement: You are at home, you are welcome here.

Genya Harley, left, Dr. John Awah and Tasha Baker, NCP director for Washington Park.

Richard Muhammad

Read more about Korle Bu Medical Center: http://www.korlebumedicalgroup.com/contact.html

Washington Park seeks population growth

2/14/2007, 1:21 AM

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Ed Finkel

What would happen to a neighborhood if 30,000 people up and left?

The Washington Park community began wrestling with that question in 1990 after decades of population loss left large swaths of its housing stock boarded up or gone altogether.

Rev. Richard Tolliver is helping turn the tide by rebuilding housing.

Photo: Martha Brock

A rental neighborhood that teemed with residents following World War II, Washington Park today has a stark, wind-blown landscape. And with 51.2 percent of its 14,100 residents living below the poverty level, it is the city's second poorest community.

But Washington Park has begun to rebuild its population with help from St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corp. (SERC), founded in 1990 by St. Edmund's Episcopal Church. SERC, the neighborhood's NCP lead agency, has completed eight projects totaling 455 units of housing.

"Our mission [has been] to serve as a catalyst," says Dr. Rev. Richard Tolliver, pastor of St. Edmund's and president and CEO of SERC. "SERC has helped give a sense that we have bottomed out, and now were on the way back up," says Fr. Mark Weber, pastor of St. Anselm's Church and a participant on SERC's NCP task force. "(Now) the concern is for the longer-term residents who hung in here through the years." But Weber quickly adds that gentrification is not yet on the horizon.

Turning the tide

After losing 24,000 people from 1960 to 1990, the neighborhood shrank by 5,300 more during the 1990s, a big chunk of which was due to the demolition of the Chicago Housing Authority's Robert Taylor high-rises near State Street.

Severe population decline has left many streets with boarded buildings and vacant lots.

Photo: Martha Brock

During that same decade, St. Edmund's took over the troubled 230-unit high-rise at 63rd and Michigan, built a 61-unit senior citizens facility and rehabilitated several apartment buildings near 61st and Michigan.

That work is continuing this year with the gut-rehab of a seven-building low-rise development. The 56-unit multi-site project will feature 24 three- and four-bedroom townhouses and 32 units in walkups. Fourteen units will be leased to the CHA, 11 will be market rate, and 31 will be for people who make 60 percent or less of median income.

Chicago Housing Authority CEO Terry Peterson says the development furthers the CHA's "transformation" goal of creating mixed-income developments. "It was an opportunity for us to partner with a faith-based entity and an example that hopefully other faith-based institutions and not-for-profit CDCs will look at."

"When that project is completed, we will have 506 units in 21 buildings," says Tolliver, representing an investment of $52 million. Next year, SERC plans to build 51 units of rental housing – its first ground-up project. Later it hopes to participate in the city's New Homes for Chicago program, marketing homes to support staff at the University of Chicago and other employers. "There's a great need for quality housing for first-time homebuyers at that level of employee," Tolliver says. "And Woodlawn is on the way up, North Kenwood is on the way up. They're pricing them out of those markets, so this is the next natural place to look, west of the park." He notes that Washington Parks proximity to the Dan Ryan Expressway and Red and Green El lines makes it a very accessible neighborhood. "We have a large interest pool already in the housing thats being rehabbed," Tolliver says.

Branching out

While housing will remain a priority, participation in NCP has prompted SERC to pull together a task force of residents and representatives from churches, the police department and the Boys & Girls Club; its first task is to flesh out a revitalization plan completed in 2001.

Resident Latina Harper shows her pleasure that the former Chicago Housing Authority apartments behind her are being redeveloped.

Photo: Martha Brock

Many residents want improvements to the area's commercial spaces, which are now characterized by the ragged mom-and-pop shops along Garfield Boulevard. Topping the wish list is a grocery store, but the group's NCP director, Tasha Baker, says the neighborhood may have to build up its population to attract one. "As you develop the new housing and you bring in new residents, then you can build on the density."

Helen Gillespie, co-founder of the West Washington Park Neighborhood Association and an NCP task force member, hopes the wait won't be too long. "I am a resident who doesn't drive, and I would love to be able to walk into the neighborhood and get a piece of fresh fruit."

In the meantime, SERC hopes to create an employment center to serve all residents, but with a special focus on moving ex-offenders into the job market. "We're working with LISC to develop a list of funders and different people we can collaborate with," Baker says. Also in the works is a welcoming committee that would provide new residents with a community directory, newsletter and a few necessities. NCP organizer Ericka Branch says the directory will answer such questions as, "Where are the schools? Where is the post office?" The package might include smoke detectors and other items for their homes, just to make them feel welcome, she adds.

SERC hopes the welcoming attitude will attract people into its planned Neighborhood Leadership Program. "By identifying [new residents] early on and welcoming them, by letting them know what's available, that empowers them to come out and participate," says Baker.

Overcoming apathy is among the neighborhood's top challenges, Baker concedes, and task force member Weber agrees. "There's just a small group of us who show up (at meetings). Part of that is because the neighborhood's been so depopulated. You almost don't have a critical mass of people with a real, direct, vested interest in the neighborhood itself."

And that's why new housing and organizing remain so important. By attracting residents and recreating a sense of community, SERC hopes Washington Park can once again have streets lined with housing – and stores and sidewalks busy with neighbors and visitors.

Washington Park plan presented to Daley, Fanton

2/14/2007, 1:21 AM

Washington Park residents joined their brethren from around the city in May to see area leaders present the comprehensive Washington Park quality of life plan to Mayor Richard M. Daley and Jonathan F. Fanton, president of the MacArthur Foundation.

Presenting to Mayor Richard M. Daley and MacArthur Foundation President Jonathan Fanton were Murray Johnson(left) and Rev. Richard Tolliver.

Photo: Juan Francisco Hernandez

This occurred on a dais in a packed ballroom at the Chicago Hilton and Towers during the LISC New Communities Program Roll Out Assembly for all 14 NCP neighborhoods.

Murray Johnson, president of the Washington Park Neighborhood Association, and Rev. Richard Tolliver, president of St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corporation presented the plan, while Ald. Arenda Troutman and her staff participated in the planning process and were in attendance.

"This is a great day for Washington Park," said Mary Beard, secretary of the WPNA, as she watched Daley and Fanton honor the planning efforts of SERC, the WPNA and organizations in the other 13 neighborhoods that presented their plans.

"I commend all of the residents and organizers involved in the New Communities Program for taking responsibility for strengthening the economic and social life of their neighborhoods and helping us to create a stronger and more vibrant city," Daley said. "The City of Chicago welcomes the ideas in these plans, and we have already begun working with many groups and look forward to working with many others in helping turn their visions into reality."

"We are encouraged by the positive response from public agencies and private funders," Fanton said. "With strategies that are based on solid data and a clear understanding of market dynamics, the plans offer real opportunities for improving conditions in city neighborhoods. The health of individual neighborhoods affects the city as a whole and even the region. If you care about the city, investing in neighborhoods just makes sense."

The New Communities Program is a long-term, comprehensive approach to urban development that uses grassroots neighborhood planning as a central tool for improving the quality of life of community residents. NCP looks at the whole community, including schools, parks, health care, childcare, community safety, organizing, social services, and opportunities for economic development

Although the 14 plans vary according to community condition and particular need, certain common critical issues emerged in virtually every one of the planning processes, which NCP will address on a broader policy basis. These issues include the need to enhance education and youth services, build family wealth, increase housing that is available across a broad spectrum of incomes and ages, increase retail service and reduce crime.

Managed by LISC and led by lead agencies in neighborhoods around Chicago, NCP will help bring new resources to the Washington Park community. Titled "Rebuilding the Neighborhood," Washington Park's plan identifies several critical issues and projects that will strengthen the neighborhood as a balanced, mixed-income community, including:

Affordable housing options through new housing investment and rehabilitation of existing buildings;
An employment assistance program to help with job readiness training and job placement;
A new business/research park and increased retail and commercial activity;
Fences and right-of-way improvement along 63rd Street;
Creation of more transportation options and more parks and green spaces for local children and families;
Support for and engagement of community residents to address unmet community needs; and,
An old-fashioned neighborhood-welcoming program that will provide new residents with a community directory and newsletter.

For more information or to get involved in the revitalization initiative taking place in Washington Park, please visit the SERC website at www.sercchicago.org or call us at(773) 752-8893.

Washington Park job fair draws 1,600

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Sunday, October 8, 2006

Richard Muhammad

About 1,600 people ages 16 to 65 turned out for a resource and job fair recently hosted by Mainstream Living to connect area residents with jobs – or the skills to find a job.

Tamika Tagub, 21, said the event, held Sept. 20 at the Chicago Park District's Harris Park, provided a chance for people to gain employment and ways to better themselves.

Bob Corbett (left), a recruiter for Exelon and Commonwealth Edison, talks with a potential job candidate.

Photo: Richard Muhammad

"They offered jobs, help learning how to do resumes, help filling out applications. They gave you applications to fill out," said Tagub, who applied to several companies, including Walgreen's, the post office and an insurance agency.

Exhibitors, who included employers and service providers, manned tables in two huge rooms at the park's community center. Displays, brochures, and applications filled tables as conversations filled the air. Participants learned about potential careers and career starters. 20th Ward Ald. Arenda Troutman partnered with the fair's organizers to make it happen.

Having the employers and service providers in one place was a "great" idea, said Tagub. "It's hard for some people to get [jobs], and they brought an opportunity to come and get jobs here," she said.

An exhibitor at the fair (right) shares information during the recent job and resource fair.

Photo: Richard Muhammad

"More people, if they knew about it, would have come out," added Shaquendo Britton, 32, who applied for several positions.

Resource for community, employers

Bob Corbett, who represented energy companies Exelon and ComEd, did brisk business. He talked with potential applicants about their work experience, interests and desired career paths, and he gave tips on the best way to post resumes online.

Exelon/ComEd job requirements range from a G.E.D. to four-year college degrees, Corbett noted. A meter reader, for example is an entry-level position that pays $14 to $15 an hour. But an overhead electrician earns $100,000-plus, with salary and overtime, he said.

"We just wanted to make sure that [attendees] are aware of the fact that these kinds of good paying jobs with good security and good benefits are available," Corbett said. "Unless you really get to know what kinds of jobs a company has, you might have a certain view of them and just not have any idea that there is something there for you."

Dorothy Taylor, head of Mainstream Living, works year-round with employers who participated in the fair.

Photo: Richard Muhammad

Corbett said he expected a lot of people to post resumes online after the event, which he added was a great opportunity for companies because it cost only staff time.

Other employers, like the U.S. Census Bureau, offered a chance to get a job and have a greater impact on the neighborhood. Though the next national census won't happen until 2010, other important data collection is happening.

"The surveys that we are doing determine how much federal money comes into certain areas around the country," said recruiter Charles Slater.

Given the continued problem of undercounting African Americans, Slater hoped to find employees who can do a more thorough job of counting. Though the position is entry level, it can lead to a long-term career, he said.

Center adds family to employment equation

The job fair is more than a one-day affair, said Dorothy Taylor, of Mainstream Living, which helps with employment, job preparation, skill training, and education. Employers who participate in the job fair are sought out for jobs during the year as are previous job fair participants, she added.

Work is done with the entire family, not just the individual job seeker, she said. That might mean help with housing, or child care while a parent is working, Taylor explained. "We kind of embrace the whole family and the support system that needs to go around it," she said.

The effort is a collaboration between St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corp. and Mainstream Living, where Taylor serves as executive director. This is Mainstream Living's first foray into partnering with St. Edmund's under the New Communities Program.

Tasha Baker (left), NCP director for Washington Park lead agency St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corp., mans a display with a colleague.

Photo: Richard Muhammad

The job center is a little over a year old but has only been recruiting for the last three months. More than 100 people have been enrolled in services in the last 90 days, according to Taylor. Bringing services and jobs together helps get those who aren't quite ready for work prepared, as many in the 20th Ward and Washington Park need to be, she said.

The myth that people don't want to work went out the window in Washington Park eight years ago, said Taylor, who cited numbers at usually 2,000 to 3,000 people per job fair, which shows people are eager for employment.

Her organization, located at 5912 S. State St., is looking to move into a larger space to provide more services, like offering e-mail addresses and internet access, resume writing, and a place to call or fax potential employers.

"The center in Washington Park is designed to make a difference in a neighborhood that's been left behind," said Tasha Baker, NCP director for Washington Park.

Washington Park block fest draws 800 revelers

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Thursday, September 15, 2005

The Chicago Fire Department made quite a splash with the children.

An estimated 800 people of all ages turned out July 23 to participate in the Washington Park Neighborhood Association's annual Unity in the Community Block Fest.

Area churches, block clubs, businesses and 20th Ward Alderman Arenda Troutman's office put together a daylong festival featuring games and special attractions, while a variety of service groups passed out information and, in some cases, administered services.

Children anxiously wait their turns to experience the stylish body art by Rocco D Clown.

The latter included the University of Chicago and Chicago Youth Program, which provided free health screenings and registered neighborhood children for back-to-school physicals.

Representatives from the 3rd District CAPS office distributed information about community safety and CAPS youth programs.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago gave residents the opportunity to sign up for their free homebuyer education classes and told homeowners about their rehabilitation and foreclosure intervention services.

The fun side of the festival included resident-organized games for children and adults, the Chicago Fire Department's splash with its pumper truck, and the JumpingJack provided by the City of Chicago.

Children reluctantly wait to see the University of Chicago doctors.

Attendees munched onfree hot dogs, popcorn and drinks, and they enjoyed bingo, music by DJ Pete, karaoke challenge, a talent showcase and performances by Rocco D Clown.

The festival succeeded thanks to donations from residents, area businesses, churches and LISC.

To help plan the 2006 event, join the Block Fest Planning Committee, which will meet the first Monday of each month starting in January. Contact Kim O'Neal at (773) 752-8893.

U. of C. Hospitals and lead agencies convene empowerment forum

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Eighty leaders of South Side social service and community organizations came together in late June to identify common issues and plan for improved collaboration and resource use.

U. of C. Hospitals' vice president Michelle Obama (center) chats with representatives from Englewood.

Photo: Tina Turner

Sponsored by the University of Chicago Hospitals and Quad Communities Development Corp., the "Community Empowerment Forum" at the South Shore Cultural Center turned into much more than the networking luncheons previously hosted by the U. of C. Hospitals.

Participants discussed current challenges and approaches to addressing them.

Photo: Tina Turner

"We wanted people to walk away with something of value," said Tina Turner, program manager for the hospitals' Office of Community Affairs. "And we wanted it to be community driven, not just the hospitals saying what the issues are."

Michelle Obama, the hospitals' vice president of community and external affairs, said the hospitals were committed to continuing a range of community programming, including its speakers group, fitness program and small grants initiative. But she urged participants to identify new ways to leverage resources.

Four work groups were facilitated by South Side NCP directors from Southeast Chicago Development Commission, St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corp., Teamwork Englewood and Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corp. Also participating was Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corp.

Ideas included:

· Staffing – To maintain high-quality staff, groups seek to improve pay scales, add training, create internships and reduce or share administrative costs.

· Marketing – To reach residents who are unaware of available services, door-to-door and word-of-mouth approaches were recommended, along with better use of media, church and aldermanic networks.

· Tracking – Reliable, consistent information on program participants might be developed through staff training, technical support, corporate mentoring or a shared client-information system.

· Funding – Three main approaches were suggested: developing relationships and partnerships, working for public policy changes and developing grant writing capabilities.

These ideas will be discussed further at the first meeting of the Task Force of South Side Service Providers on Sept. 20.

Participating New Communities Program neighborhoods set up tables to promote their programs and quality-of-life plans.

Photo: Tina Turner

Contact: Tina Turner, U. of C. Hospitals, 773-702-9457, catinaturner@uchospitals.edu

Top 10 issues: What neighbors talk about

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Thursday, April 1, 2004

Certain topics keep coming up in NCP planning sessions, suggesting that neighborhoods might learn from each other as they address common issues. Here's an unscientific summary of what people are talking about at this early stage in the planning.

1. Building financial strength
Money is a dominant issue and it comes up in many different forms: how to earn more, moving into employment, creating jobs for kids, taking care of bad credit, getting a mortgage, starting a business.

Money: Residents want expanded job opportunities and ways to build wealth. Above, a Bickerdike construction crew.

Photo: Ed Finkel

2. Improving the schools
Participants call repeatedly for better schools and have many specific ideas: smaller class size, more parent involvement, after-hours community use of schools, foreign-language training,math-science centers, parenting training and more responsive principals. Improvements at the high school level are seen as critical to support healthy teen lifestyles.

3. Viable retail strips
Many NCP communities lack the retail basics: groceries, clothing stores, coffee shops, sit-down restaurants, video stores. Residents want to replace boarded storefronts and vacant lots with attractive, safe shopping areas that include locally owned stores as well as "big box" outlets like Target, Home Depot, Whole Foods and Best Buy.

4. Selling the community
Groups want to promote the good things that their neighborhoods have to offer. Marketing campaigns could bring in new investment and residents. Web sites and joint advertising could connect residents to local goods and services.

Retail: Many call for revival of local shopping areas. Above, new stores at 79th and Halsted in Auburn Gresham.

Photo: Debra Meeks for Martha Brock Photography

5. Addictions and drug trafficking
Without good schools, recreation and job opportunities, residents see little hope of reducing drug and alcohol use, street sales of drugs and the social problems that result. Quality addiction treatment is considered essential and good policing is mentioned, but neither is seen as an adequate solution by itself.

6. Local entrepreneurship
Many want to see more local people involved in business, in particular African-American entrepreneurs on revived retail strips. Chambers of commerce, business resource centers and group marketing have been suggested to support small-business development.

7. Mixed-income housing
Most communities desire more options at the high end of the housing spectrum (because these choices have not existed locally), but also want to create good, affordable rental housing to protect against residents being priced out of their own neighborhood.

Schools: Education is on everyone's list. Above, South Chicago's New Sullivan School offers evening programs.

Photo: Patrick Barry

8. Improving specific sites
Almost every neighborhood has identified specific streets or parcels that represent crucial development opportunities. Some want housing or retail development; others seek open space or park facilities. Locations are easily identified, but there is not always consensus around intended uses.

9. Youth recreation and job opportunities
Communities recognize that kids with nowhere to go after school and with no culture of part-time employment are more likely to engage in anti-social activities. High-quality social programs, recreation (roller rinks, movie theaters, parks) and after-school jobs are seen as tools to keep youth on track.

10. Support for ex-offenders
Several NCP communities are receiving large numbers of parolees from the prison system. Residents seek programs that provide immediate supports to the ex-offenders along with job training and placement services to help them resist the criminal lifestyle.

Other themes discussed include open space/parks; access to health care; improved social services; beautification and greening; development coordinated with transit; violence prevention; improved communication within neighborhoods; immigration issues; and cultural and artistic opportunities.

St. Edmund's inks deal on CHA townhouses

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Saturday, September 20, 2003

John McCarron

It took nearly 10 years of give-and-take negotiation, but St. Edmund's Meadows promises to be worth the wait. It's the latest undertaking of St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corporation (SERC), the church-based dynamo leading the revival of the Washington Park neighborhood. It's also the first time the Chicago Housing Authority has sold apartments to a not-for-profit for rehab.

Chicago Housing Authority CEO Terry Peterson turned over the buildings to St. Edmund's in September 2003.

Photo: Martha Brock

Under the $9 million plan, a SERC investment partnership will purchase and rehab all seven buildings and 56 apartments of the CHA's Washington Park scattered sites—the largest cluster of which is across from the Episcopal church on the 6100 block of South Michigan Avenue.

After the grim, project-style row houses are transformed into bright, state-of-the-art townhouses, a quarter of the units will be leased back to CHA and qualified public housing tenants. Another 31 will be leased, at affordable rents, to families earning less than 60 percent of the area median income. Eleven will be marketed to the middle-class families that are beginning to return to Washington Park. LISC helped secure pre-development financing for the Meadows, and will be helping SERC develop a wider plan for Washington Park via the New Communities Program.

Reaching out, NCP groups launch planning

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Nobody said it was going to be easy. As more than 1,000 residents have come together in eight neighborhoods to begin quality-of-life planning processes, the first lesson is that planning is a complex and sometimes uncomfortable undertaking.

A breakout group defined issues and strategies at a meeting organized by the Quad Communities Development Corp.

Photo: Patrick Barry

For the last few months, the New Communities Program lead agencies have been recruiting task force members, bridging political divides and asserting leadership without appearing to "control" the planning process. It has been delicate work. "The agencies are feeling real pressure to do things they haven't done before," commented Wesley Walker, one of four LISC program officers working with NCP groups. "They might be feeling a bit outside of their comfort zones."

But if bringing neighbors together is risky and unpredictable, it can also be exciting and hopeful. You can feel that much from the buzz of conversation around the planning tables and the way people linger after meetings, talking from their hearts.

Paper and scissors

Eight NCP agencies have organized their first planning meetings and early results are promising. Lawndale Christian Development Corp. invited residents to draw pictures and make cutouts of what they dream for their community and what obstacles need to be removed. It might sound silly, but the 140 people at the first meeting didn't think so. They drew pictures and shared their visions, and at a second meeting a week before Christmas, 115 people engaged in thoughtful discussions over scissors and construction paper.

Greater Southwest Development Corp. (GSDC) launched its process with one-on-one interviews and then brought 170 people together at Holy Cross Hospital to explore what GSDC staff member Betty Gutierrez termed the "tremendous rewards to relationship." The task force assembled by the Logan Square Neighborhood Assn. took a bus tour one icy Saturday, then used colored pencils to transfer their ideas to maps. "It was a great meeting, really exciting," said Becky Lopez, the group's NCP director.

Similar stories have unfolded in Woodlawn, Little Village, Auburn Gresham, Humboldt Park and on the Mid-South Side, where the fledgling Quad Communities Development Corp. (QCDC) has filled dozens of flip-chart pages with the ideas of 215 participants.

The meetings have brought out mothers and fathers, activists, business owners, nuns, high school students, educators, malcontents, social service providers and at least one ex-convict, who told the people in his small group how difficult it is to reveal his prison record on job applications.

Different approaches

The Logan Square task force took a guided tour by school bus.

Photo: Juan Francisco Hernandez

Style and methods have varied widely, from the highly organized 8 a.m. breakfast meetings run by QCDC, complete with facilitators and recorders for each of eight break-out groups, to the revival-style meeting that launched Auburn Gresham's process on Jan. 17, with fiery speeches by 17th Ward Ald. Latasha Thomas, St. Sabina's Father Michael Phleger and Chicago Housing Authority CEO Terry Peterson.

Supporting it all are LISC's program officers plus eight professional planners from Camiros Ltd. and six "scribes" who are documenting the conversations as they take place. Integrating these "outsiders" into the neighborhood-driven processes has been another of the challenges faced by lead agencies.

Below is a glimpse of the action as planning moves from issue identification to development of strategies and projects.

Humboldt Park

Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. has assembled a diverse task force whose first business is to review several existing plans for the area. The new plan will integrate previous ideas and develop strategies for issues not yet addressed.

Mid-South

QCDC has used three visioning sessions to introduce itself as an organization and to position itself as a convener of groups already working in the 4th Ward. The next step is to recruit the task force that will develop the plan.

Little Village

The task force organized by the Little Village Community Development Corp. used a "dot-map" exercise to pinpoint locations of interest or concern. One possibility: "We need more community space where we can celebrate or just be together," said Celia Gonzalez Lozano from Tepochcalli School.

Chicago Lawn

Building relationships is the priority for this joint effort of the Greater Southwest Development Corp. and Southwest Organizing Project. The 170 people at the first meeting were sent home with the assignment of interviewing five others. "Everyone gets connected and this becomes an exciting community," said GSDC executive director Jim Capraro.

Auburn Gresham

The Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corp. recruited a 38-person task force and conducted a visioning session on Jan. 17. Residents would like to see a revived 79th Street business strip, improved schools and housing choices from affordable rentals to condominiums.

Woodlawn

The Woodlawn task force was recruited by a three-way partnership between Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corp., The Woodlawn Organization and University of Chicago. A possible focus for recreational and community programming is the Harris YWCA building, now owned by the Chicago Park District.

North Lawndale

At two initial meetings, Arnold Aprill of the Chicago Arts Partnership in Education guided participants as they created drawings and murals. Among the most common images were dollar signs, liquor bottles and residents holding hands.

Logan Square

LSNA's process builds on the group's annually updated wholistic plan, first developed 10 years ago. "The tension in our neighborhood," said executive director Nancy Aardema, "is how do you create safety and neighborliness and do it so people can stay? The simple solution would be to gentrify the whole thing. But LSNA is about people, not buildings."

By Patrick Barry with reports from LaVida Davis, Ed Finkel, John McCarron, Beatriz Ponce de Leon and Lisa Riley

Portfolio: Washington Park townhomes

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Cities and neighborhoods, like businesses, rise or fall based on investment. Many parts of Chicago—downtown in particular—have boomed thanks to public and private investment in such projects as residential Dearborn Park, the restoration of Wacker Drive and, most recently, Millennium Park on Chicago's magnificent lakefront.

Assembled here is a portfolio of Chicago's next great investment opportunities, in NCP neighborhoods, including Washington Park.

Download the full portfolio in Acrobat PDF format (2.5 MB).

These projects are the most investment-ready of hundreds to emerge from a series of quality-of-life plans written by neighborhood residents under the leadership of local organizations. Some of the projects call for substantial residential and commercial redevelopment—project values run more than $245 million in the aggregate. Others are modest in dollar amounts, but heavy on civic spirit: ethnic wall murals by local artists, a retail feasibility study, expansion of a training program for auto mechanics.

Washington Park is promoting St. Edmund's Commons Townhomes, which would transform vacant lots to the sites of affordable rental townhouses and a base for local renewal efforts, as part of the New Communities Program's Community Investment Portfolio. The project would consist of 53 rental townhouses, mostly three-bedroom units, built on 10 vacant lots, bolstering the return of middle-income housing in this reviving South Side neighborhood. The Commons will contain four units for households earning less than 30 percent of the area median income, 17 units for those earning less than 50 percent and 25 for those below 60 percent. The remaining five units will be leased at market rates.

New townhomes will be attractive and affordable.

Photo: Johnson and Lee Architects, Ltd.

BENEFITS The housing development will reduce the number of vacant lots that plague Washington Park ; expand the income range of neighborhood residents; serve as a neighborhood model for mixed-income housing; and attract other developers, including those offering homes for sale.

Most families rent their homes.

Photo: Juan Francisco Hernandez

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corporation (SERC) works to renew the Washington Park community by developing quality housing and fostering revitalization opportunities for all people. SERC is working to redevelop former Chicago Housing Authority sites and vacant lots into successful mixed-income housing; create attractive gateways coming east from the Dan Ryan Expressway; revitalize commercial strips; increase parks and green space; and improve employment opportunities.

LOCATION
60th Street from Wabash to Indiana Avenues

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
$500,000 for gap financing

OVERALL PROJECT VALUE
$14.6 million

TIMELINE
2007 Construction
2008 Completion

Older brick housing is being rehabbed.

Photo: Martha Brock

PARTNERS
Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th Ward), Charter Mac, Chicago Department of Housing, Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Chicago Housing Authority, Developers Mortgage Corporation, Gilead Management Company, LISC/Chicago, Redevelopment Service Corporation, Skender Construction Company, University of Chicago, Washington Park Neighborhood Association

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Cecelia Hunt
773.752.8893
ceceliahunt@aol.com

Planning's Denise Casalino ready to pitch in

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Thursday, August 19, 2004

John McCarron

Citizen-planners working on quality-of-life plans for their neighborhoods had better be careful what they ask for. Denise M. Casalino just might make it come true.

Denise M. Casalino, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Planning and Development

That's the impression the city's new commissioner of planning and development gave in a recent one-on-one in her office at City Hall. She's not just respectful of the NCP effort—she's relying on the local task forces to produce plans that will become, in effect, the city's plans for those neighborhoods.

Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Casalino in February, citing her supervision of the $200 million Wacker Drive reconstruction project and her work as deputy at the Department of Construction and Permits. A licensed civil engineer, her gift for project management squares with the mayor's get-it-done approach…and with NCP's determination to turn comprehensive plans into solid action.

Q: Does it make you anxious that neighborhoods are drawing up their own plans?

A: No, I was thrilled when they told me what was going on. We're in a situation here (City Hall) where everyone is operating short of staff. But we're supposed to get stuff done. So, as far as I'm concerned, when you have a credible organization like this (NCP) helping us plan communities, we're going to use that. We're going to get what we can out of it.

Q: Use it how?

A: The thing I want out of this is a list of what needs to be done. Sure, that list might have to be reconciled with what the city can afford, and the things where we have some control. But it will be very useful to see what neighborhoods want done with, say, vacant land, and to have a list of what other agencies—the CTA, the schools, the park district—ought to be doing. That's total planning.

Q: Nobody elected the NCP planners. Are you concerned whether they speak for their communities?

A: There are contentious issues, of course. In Logan Square, different groups might have different ideas about how to get more green space…and what to do with that space. It's not easy getting consensus, especially when other agencies, like the parks, are involved.

Q: You come from an on-time, on-budget background, but in planning you'll have to negotiate the shape of projects. That can take longer. And some things never get off the ground.

A: It's an enlightening change for me. There are all these forces that stop things from getting done. So it can be kind of frustrating. That's why I'm focusing first on the process of how we do things. And to jump-start some things that had been gathering dust. We need to keep project management the focus. A person is in charge of a project and they carry it through…not just drop it off to the TIF (tax increment financing) people or the PD (planned development) people.

Q: There's a lot of talk that downtown gets the gravy and neighborhoods get the beans. The opening of Millennium Park will renew that debate. Is NCP a chance to prove otherwise?

A: Yes, it is! Because it will give us "what to do" plans for these neighborhoods. But there's already a lot of resources going there. We have over 130 TIFs (districts) in the city, and considering there are only three downtown, that means there's a lot of focus on neighborhoods and on getting areas of the city revitalized.

Q: What about gentrification? Will the city help people stay where they are?

A: Definitely property taxes are an issue. I was living in Wicker Park for five years and three times had a doubling of my taxes. It's painful. It's the middle class that we want to stay and to use the schools, but they get hit by the taxes. It's the key group to focus on, but too often they get left out in the cold.

Q: How about mandatory developer set-asides to produce more affordable housing? There's a proposal before the city council.

A: I'm not too big on legislating and over-controlling the marketplace. Eventually it (the market) figures out what the needs are. Government is supposed to guide it in the right direction. For instance, when you use TIF, you have to have some affordable housing.

Q: Do you look forward to working with community development corporations? Some can be erratic.

A: I worked with several in the Department of Transportation, where I oversaw bridge location and design. The people at Lathrop Homes were terrified about the new Damen Avenue bridge. So we made renderings. We talked to the residents. They just wanted to know what's happening, that's all.

Q: What, exactly, are you going to do with the NCP plans when copies reach your office?

A: Our neighborhood division has three regions—north, west and south. Staff will be assigned to review them as project managers, and they'll keep track of what are the city's responsibilities. They'll also report to the deputy commis-sioner for their region. Then, at some point, we'll need to sit down and go over the plans with the other agencies. These are going to be our planning studies. This is what should be going on in these neighborhoods.

NCP planning update – August 2004

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Monday, June 21, 2004

The largest grassroots neighborhood planning effort ever organized in Chicago was at its midpoint in early August 2004 as 10 communities engaged in quality-of-life planning. More than 40 task force meetings and public forums had taken place and 30 planning sub-committees had met. Total meeting attendance has exceeded 2,600.

Ten Chicago neighborhoods

A meeting in Chicago Lawn, Jan. 31, 2004.

Photo: Patrick Barry

Planning processes are underway in Auburn-Gresham, Chicago Lawn, East Garfield, Humboldt Park, Little Village, Logan Square, the Mid-South Side (Quad Communities), North Lawndale and Woodlawn. A 10th neighborhood, Englewood, has begun pre-planning. The four other NCP lead agencies completed plans in the last few years: Pilsen, West Haven (Near West), South Chicago and Washington Park.

Current status

Target date for completion of printed plans is March/April 2005. The groups will finish planning in three stages, with the first plans completed by late 2004:

First wave: Plans are in the working draft stage for Auburn Gresham, Humboldt Park and North Lawndale. Strategies and projects are being finalized.

Second wave: Charrette workshops have been completed in Woodlawn, Little Village and Chicago Lawn (resulting in a rough list of strategies and projects). The Quad Communities workshop is planned for September 18.

Third wave: Workshops and completion of planning are expected this fall for East Garfield and Logan Square. Englewood is now in the pre-planning stage and will hold its workshop this winter.

Creating a roadmap

The plans serve as a framework for comprehensive community development, which includes social and educational programs, economic development and physical improvements. Implementing the plans involves a partnership of local groups, government, businesses, LISC/Chicago and other funders.

A structured, public process

The NCP lead agency in each community organizes a representative task force that conducts about six major meetings including large public meetings where plan ideas are reviewed. The task force and committees develop a series of strategies, projects and programs; recruit partners; assign responsibilities for implementing each project or program; and develop timelines for implementation.

Professional support

Residents put ideas onto a map in Humboldt Park.

The planning processes are organized by the local NCP director and organizer. Each process receives technical support from the planning firm Camiros, Ltd ., including facilitation and development of maps, renderings and concept plans. A professional writer records the discussions at major meetings and drafts the final plan.

Broad participation

Most communities have achieved high levels of participation. Task forces include 20 to 35 community members. Public meetings have attracted 50 to 210 participants. Common issues Each community identifies issues as an early planning step. Though the details differ, top concerns are shared across most communities. School quality, financial needs, retail development and youth development are on most lists.

Learn more about NCP planning

Read an article about the planning process from the American Planning Association's Planning Magazine. Download the Adobe PDF file (2.3 MB) here.

LISC briefs Chicago Police about NCP

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

LISC/Chicago's staff met with top officials of the Chicago Police Department on Feb. 5 to brief the department on the New Communities Program and suggest ways to build broader neighborhood partnerships around crime and safety issues.

Hosted at Police Headquarters by First Deputy Superintendent Dana Starks and Deputy Superintendent Barbara McDonald, the meeting included 20 district commanders, area deputy chiefs and CAPS leaders who serve NCP neighborhoods.

LISC/Chicago's senior program director Andrew Mooney and senior program officer Amanda Carney told the officials that many NCP neighborhoods have identified the need to improve safety and address youth involvement with gangs. Mooney invited police to get involved in local planning processes and, where appropriate, to develop safety programs with neighborhood partners.

A follow-up meeting between CAPS and NCP organizers and directors took place on April 29.

Phase two begins for Washington Park leadership training

2/14/2007, 1:20 AM

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Richard Muhammad

Washington Park leaders attended training session on public policy and legislative issues led by John Paul Jones, of the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group, who is seated in foreground.

Photo: Richard Muhammad

Some 20 neighborhood residents gathered in a community room at St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church Nov. 18 for phase two of sessions presented by the Washington Park Leadership Development Training Institute.

“Understanding Policy and Legislation” was the topic of a Saturday session led by John Paul Jones, of the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group. The bi-monthly training lasts six months and is expected to conclude in May, said New Communities Program director Tasha Baker, of lead agency St. Edmund’s Redevelopment Corp.

Leadership training is especially significant given Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics and proposed changes in Washington Park, said Jones, NCBD director of community outreach.

As the Olympic proposal and other developments move forward, there is an expectation and often a requirement for community input, he noted. Residents, in particular, and other community stakeholders must be engaged, Jones stressed.

Without engaged leadership, a neighborhood can easily be bypassed as decisions are made, he explained.

Washington Park residents spent over half a day learning about how to engage and monitor government.

Photo: Richard Muhammad

Jones led the group through defining public policy, tracking legislation, examining the role of lobbyists, critiquing public subsidies, tax dollars and capital improvements, and similar topics. His presentation ranged from where to look for city money to install lighting and curb cuts to how to engage in democratic processes at the city, county and state level.

The idea is to broaden residents’ conversations with government officials about policy needs to protect their interests and to increase their wealth, Jones said.

Training provides definitions, possible strategies

Washington Park has often had a difficult time assembling leaders to talk things through, he noted. “This is a whole new ballgame, they are now ready to begin some policy work and legislation, and that should help them achieve many victories,” said Jones.

“Stakeholders have to assemble, they have to be clear about what they expect, from not only themselves but from others – and set the pace. Again, outsiders will be looking for a venue. I think people who work in good faith do want to communicate with the constituencies, but (Washington Park) will have to provide that venue,” Jones added.

Pastor Jesse Knox listens during Nov. 18 presentation.

Photo: Richard Muhammad

Willie Cochran, a training participant, was struck by the topics presented and how much residents could learn. It was “a great meeting,” and very informative about legislation, lobbying and community organizing, he said.

“This session has given us the ability to increase the capacity of our local agencies. And our local agencies, if given the opportunity, working hand in hand with government could increase overall government and community effectiveness,” said Cochran.

“It was a wonderful morning and afternoon on gaining insights on how governments work,” added Edward Chaney, membership chair for the Washington Park Neighborhood Association.

Increased knowledge input and impact

“The more they become savvy about the items, the better they’ll be able to protect themselves from economic disruptions, or at least, compete with the new stakeholders that will be coming their way,” said Jones, in laying out the value of the training.

Jones hopes to come back to Washington Park to talk about putting together special funds, whether for college scholarships, home improvements for longtime residents or money to support other redevelopment. It’s more than someone just paying for pop at a block club party, he said.

John Paul Jones, of the the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group, conducts leadership training session in Washington Park.

Photo: Richard Muhammad

“Washington Park is overwhelmed by new private investors, who need to know they must give something back to the community … not just to give to city hall, but to give to the community,” he said.

The Washington Park Leadership Development Training Institute is run by the Washington Park Neighborhood Association and the New Communities Program. The training was sponsored by LISC/Chicago and the Woods Fund of Chicago.

The goal is to empower residents and develop a core group of leaders, said Baker. Phase One of the training included community engagement and neighborhood relations, she said.

Mixed feelings about Olympic bid

Having attended five core group meetings about the Olympics, Baker has seen mixed reactions. “The residents have been told, no one has invited them to the table and gave them a thorough understanding” of the process, she said.

There are worries the city will mandate expensive improvements for home and condo owners, questions about who will pay for new developments, and whether there will be place for current residents, Baker said.

Others think the idea is wonderful and will bring jobs, she continued. But, Baker added, if residents don’t qualify for the jobs, training will be needed.

Getting residents to think through opportunities, problems and options is important given the assorted questions and mixed feelings. “This kind of training is crucial because it teaches people how to get involved step by step, without theatrics, knowing the core information. So when you go to the table you know what people are talking about and you can add to the process,” she said.

Heroes: Murray T. Johnson, Greg Brown

2/14/2007, 1:11 AM

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Community Heroes are individuals who offer their passion, strength and talent to improve their neighborhoods, benefiting people who may never know them by name, but who will reap the rewards of their work. The Community Heroes for Washington Park are Murray T. Johnson and Greg Brown. They were selected, along with 26 others from across the city, by the New Communities Program lead agencies and their partners. Congratulations to these extraordinary "ordinary" people for their steadfast commitment to improving Chicago neighborhoods.

MURRAY T. JOHNSON

Photo: Tasha Baker

A resident of the Washington Park neighborhood for 56 years, Murray Johnson understands the challenges facing his neighborhood and the importance of resident-driven change. Under Murray 's leadership, the Washington Park Neighborhood Association (WPNA)—the first organization led by community members in the area—was created in 2003. One of Murray 's greatest accomplishments through the WPNA has been instilling a sense of community pride in others, and empowering residents to voice their opinions about how to improve Washington Park . Murray has been married to Willie Johnson for 45 years, and has five sons and 10 grandchildren. He is also a trustee at the Greater Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church and president of the 5800 Wabash Block Club.

GREG BROWN

Photo: South Side Community Federal Credit Union

Greg Brown, president/CEO of South Side Community Federal Credit Union, believes that economic empowerment is the first step toward alleviating poverty. With Greg at the helm, the Credit Union serves as a neighborhood based alternative to currency exchanges, payday lenders and high-cost financial services in the area. The Credit Union, the first and only community development credit union in Chicago owned and managed by African-Americans, offers financial education classes, free homeownership workshops and one-on-one counseling to Washington Park residents. Greg sits on the board of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions and the Bronzeville Community Development Partnership. He is a devoted husband and father, as well as an accomplished poet and author.

Good times for 1,000 at Block Fest

2/14/2007, 1:11 AM

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Children climbed all over Engine Co. 47's pumper, and got wet a little later.

An estimated 1,000 people of all ages turned out on a hot Saturday, July 24, to participate in the Washington Park Resident's Association Annual Block Fest.

Area churches, block clubs, businesses and 20th Ward Ald. Arenda Troutman's office put together a day's worth of events and attractions.

Along with free hot dogs, popcorn and drinks, there was bingo, music by DJ Pete, a karaoke contest, a talent showcase and performances by Rocco D Clown.

Rocco D Clown made balloon animals and showed his magic.

Residents organized games for children and adults, the Chicago Fire Department made a splash with its pumper truck and the City of Chicago provided a Jumping Jack.

There were also health screenings and a presentation by Neighborhood Housing Services.

"The event's success can be credited to teamwork," said Tasha Baker, NCP director for St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corp., who said many organizations and leaders deserved credit. The theme of the event, she said, was "Unity in the Community."

The 6000 South Indiana Praise Dancers were part of the talent showcase.

CWFs help boost income, cut costs

2/14/2007, 1:11 AM

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Ed Finkel

Centers for Working Families (CWF) offer a new twist on improving the financial well being of low-income working families. Rather than concentrating solely on employment services, the CWF model adds financial counseling, tax preparation assistance and public benefits screening to boost a household's economic health.

Being rolled out by LISC/Chicago and 13 partner agencies – 11 in NCP communities – the centers are based on an emerging national model developed through the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Classes in English as a second language are a key tool for raising earning power at the Instituto del Progreso Latino, the CWF serving Pilsen.

Photo: Sarahmaria Gomez

They offer a uniquely integrated system of services, says Christopher "Happy" Tan, program officer with LISC/Chicago. "This is a much more holistic attempt to help people achieve financial stability," Tan says. "You have to pay attention to asset development, but just as important in the short term is the need to address debt — sometimes pretty crushing debt."

Boosting income is the other half of the equation. "If you only focus on controlling expenses and controlling debt ... they cannot get out of that cycle of paycheck, expenses, debt."

Tan recalls a conversation with Brenda Palms-Barber of the North Lawndale Employment Network, the first LISC partner to become a CWF. "Our problem with our clients is, they get paid on Friday, and they're broke by Monday," Palms-Barber told him. Tan adds: "The complaint of the households was, 'I already have a job, and in many cases I'm working two or three jobs, and I'm having difficulty making ends meet.' "

More than employment centers

The centers confront that problem by offering more than traditional employment services, says Ricki Lowitz, the LISC senior program officer who has shaped the local CWFs.

Free tax preparation in the Quad Communities brought $1.2 million in tax returns to 792 households.

Photo: Eric Young Smith

Lowitz worked with Project Match, a nationally respected workforce agency, to help neigh borhoods create programs that welcome any community resident, plus friends and family, and stick with them through multiple job placements to keep them employed.

The centers serve people who often don't qualify for traditional employment programs because they are not welfare recipients, dislocated workers, or part of another eligible category – or they lack required reading and writing skills, Lowitz says. Others who do qualify might be kicked out for poor attendance or other reasons, or, after being placed once, lose their jobs and cannot be placed again. "The CWFs don't cream," Lowitz says, referring to programs that serve only the most eligible clients.

Juan Salgado: "CWF is built into the fabric of the organization."

Photo: John McCarron

Any site that calls itself a Center for Working Families also must bundle job-related services with one-on-one financial counseling, tax preparation and assistance in accessing public benefits. And each center develops partnerships with financial institutions to provide fairly priced financial products and services.

The financial counselors help with everything from getting out of debt, to starting to save, to moving upward into investments, Lowitz says. They can boost family income by as much as 25 percent with public benefits alone, and decrease expenses by, for example, setting up checking accounts to avoid the exorbitant fees at check cashing windows. Free tax preparation can make a huge difference: in 2006 the volunteer service organized by Center for Economic Progress generated $20 million for nearly 15,000 households. To provide financial advice that clients would trust, NLEN hired Tiffany Randle, a former portfolio analyst for Northern Trust. Near West Side CDC in West Haven hired Seung Kim, a former investment planner, and Southeast Chicago Development Commission in South Chicago hired Deidra Thomas, a former branch manager of Northern Trust Bank.

Taking a cue from the medical profession, counselors urge clients to never leave without making the next appointment. "They advise people on when they should come back: 'Come see me when you get a job, and we'll talk about your credit report,' " Lowitz says.

Eight sites online, more to come

Eight CWF sites are fully functional, in North Lawndale, Pilsen, West Haven, Quad Communities, South Chicago, Logan Square, West Garfield Park and Uptown. Together they provide employment services and/or free tax prep assistance to about 8,000 people a year. With new financial counselors on board, the number of people receiving one-on-one financial counseling is growing to roughly 200 per site.

Auburn-Gresham, Humboldt Park, Chicago Lawn, Washington Park and Woodlawn also plan to launch CWFs. LISC provides each site $50,000 per year for three years to pay for a full-time financial counselor. The sites must collect specific data on each participant and update an on-line database with all services provided and outcomes achieved.

The Pilsen site, operated by Instituto del Progreso Latino (IPL), has seen 1,500 clients for tax preparation services alone, a number that executive director Juan Salgado expects will grow. In 2006, the site generated $2.8 million in refunds

Salgado's organization has bundled services like employment, adult education, youth development and citizenship for 30 years, adding tax assistance three years ago and then financial services two years ago as it became part of CWF. He recalls reading about the concept of CWF and realized that the approach would click with IPL. "I immediately said, 'This is us. It's not a program within us, it is us,' " Salgado says. "We're leveraging, we're integrating, we're creating an initiative that's built into the fabric of the organization."

In West Haven, the CWF evolved out of a Home Visitors Program for residents of the Henry Horner Homes public housing complex. The previous program did not offer financial counseling or the same level of employment assistance.

"This has been really good for introducing financial education to families who otherwise would not have known anything about it, or thought about it," says Vorricia Harvey, program director. "We've been pretty successful in getting people better jobs and higher-paying jobs."

Among the local variations: Logan Square is building its program on an existing network of community schools, rather than an employment center. Greater Southwest Development Corp. (GSDC) will provide third-party verification of mortgage loan terms, as well as counseling for sub-prime mortgage borrowers prior to closing a loan. This is especially appropriate because GSDC fought for passage of a state anti-predatory lending law that requires those services.

Lessons learned

The CWF model has evolved based on local experience. Sites initially weren't required to hire in-house financial coaches, but training case managers to be bankers didn't work, and bringing in outside consultants didn't always provide the necessary personal touch and continuity of service.

Another lesson was that sites often spent too much time recruiting clients who were willing to make a long-term commitment upfront, rather than developing a counseling protocol – and quality of services — to make clients want to continue long term. Not surprisingly, groups learned that referrals from trusted people and group presentations by an impressive counselor would pique client interest. Referrals from staff they did not know or weak group presentations rarely prompted people to continue.

Image is important, too. Financial planning carries less stigma for working people than other social services, the sites learned, since the wealthy do it. But "you need extremely well-qualified financial counselors for people to get hooked," Lowitz says.

Confronting the urban challenge

2/14/2007, 1:11 AM

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

John McCarron

Rebuilding requires money, of course, but also information, expertise and strong local participation.

Photo: Martha Brock

This is not rocket science. It's harder than that. You build a better rocket by applying the laws of science and nature, physics and chemistry, propulsion and aerodynamics.

How can a neighborhood stay vital and colorful? That's a piece of the urban challenge.

Photo: Juan Francisco Hernandez

Building stronger neighborhoods is trickier. A neighborhood flies, or fails, by the will and whim of thousands of people, not all of whom live there. And no two people are alike. Not in the houses they build, the customs they keep nor the futures they dream for their children.

What the science of neighborhoods does have, more than that of rockets, is a rich and detailed history. We have decades— make that centuries—of experience with their creation, care and, sadly, collapse.

We know neighborhoods can be formed all at once, according to a plan, or more typically over time, through messy happenstance. We know their health depends on stable institutions, though these can range from a redoubtable parish church to a lowly but lovable pushcart vendor. We know good neighborhoods are places where people want to live and "bad" ones are places they'd sooner leave. We know a good one has housing its residents can afford, streets that are safe, schools where children learn and jobs—whether close-by or within reach—that pay a living wage.

There is a great deal to this business of building stronger neighborhoods, and much of what we know was theorized, tested and proven right here in Chicago.

The study began with early practitioners such as Jane Addams and Ida B. Wells. But it didn't truly flower until the desperate decades after the Second World War, when the powerful winds of technology, race and economics shifted decidedly against cities.

How bad was it? From 1960 to 1990, while new expressways and the economics of sprawl greased a doubling of suburbia, Chicago's white population dropped by half, or nearly 1.5 million. Jobs fled, too, and the city lost more than half its manufacturing base. African-Americans in some neighborhoods, already used to second-rate public schools and services, found themselves ultra-isolated in have-not neighborhoods bereft of stores, employment and, it seemed, a future. A wide arc of neighborhoods on the South and West Sides—from Woodlawn to North Lawndale—lost roughly half their housing to a vicious cycle of foreclosure, abandonment, fire and demolition. (And, lest we forget, to ill-advised urban renewal.) Nearby neighborhoods such as Chicago Lawn and Back of the Yards, though spared the worst, were staggered by the twin jabs of racial paranoia and change, then dazed again by the one-two of insurance redlining and FHA mortgage scams.

It was from this catastrophe that Chicago's new science of neighborhood development emerged.

Science? At first it was a short list of survival tips. The late Saul Alinsky invented a new kind of grassroots organization for taking on entrenched political and corporate powers. The late Gale Cincotta, seeing neighborhoods suffocate for lack of credit, taught Chicago—and the nation—how to shame lenders and insurers into dealing fairly with all neighborhoods. The late Monsignor Jack Egan brought "parish power" to bear against FHA scammers and real estate block-busters. And neighborhood leaders such as the Reverend (now Bishop) Arthur Brazier of The Woodlawn Organization explored the margins of confrontation and compromise, inventing in the process the modern "community development corporation."

If a Chicago School of neighborhood renewal does exist, its motto surely must be: "Go with what works." That's the approach used by LISC/Chicago since setting up shop here in the early 1980s, and it is the one that guides the New Communities Program. It's an approach that would warm the hearts of Alinsky, Cincotta, Egan and the rest.

Planning is a key tool in the community development arsenal.

Photo: Michael Bracey for Martha Brock Photography

What works, it turns out, is an abiding faith that ordinary people, supported by a flow of information, expertise and money, can plan the future of their own neighborhoods. What works is when elements of these plans, made real with the help of modest foundation grants or loans, capture the imagination of a wider audience including hard-boiled skeptics and investors. What works is when City Hall makes strategic public investments in support of neighborhood improvement, be they police stations, branch libraries or, more powerfully, a rebuilt Green, Blue or Brown rapid transit line—each the spine for an entire corridor of redevelopment. And what works, ultimately, once the public and nonprofit sectors set the table, is a main course of private investment as entrepreneurs spot opportunity where once they saw blight and desperation.

Does this mean NCP has a can't-miss formula? Not exactly. Neighborhoods will remain as complex and contrary as the people who live in them. Nobody has repealed Murphy's Law or the Law of Unintended Consequences. But NCP will be a solid effort to make some leaps forward. The idea is to learn by doing, to make corrections, to refine both theory and technique.

That's how the work of neighborhood development gets advanced: thoughtfully, sometimes fitfully, and always on the shoulders of those who have gone before. After all, it's not rocket science.

(Essay from "New Communities: A First Report on the New Communities Program, May 2004." To download the full report, click here.)