GPAC/GPC tackles variety of park issues

The Grant Park Advisory Council and Grant Park Conservancy (GPAC/GPC) are working on a variety of park-related issues.

          Queen's Landing. Officials have contacted British firms to fund a bridge or other structure for a direct connection between Queen’s Landing/Buckingham Fountain and the lakefront east of Lake Shore Drive, said Bob O’Neill, president of GPAC/GPC. Discussions are underway to ask a British architect design the structure, O’Neill added. He mentioned two Pritzker Prize winning architects—Sir Norman Foster and Richard Rogers—who are highly regarded internationally. Work on a crossing would tie in with the upcoming 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s arrival in Chicago at that site.

Updating the south end. A proposal for the south end of Grant Park would update the railroad tracks and the antiquated bridge. Officials will hire planners to develop conceptual ideas in the next couple of weeks.

          Grant Park garage.  The Grant Park garage rebuilding project will disrupt Grant Park between Monroe and Randolph Sts. and from the west end of the Cancer Survival Garden to Columbus Dr. “This rebuilding will provide the opportunity to plan more musical and educational components for this area of Grant Park,” said O’Neill.

          --Marie Balice Ward     

 

New green organization in South Loop

A coalition to create a greener South Loop is in its embryonic stages.

Named the Coalition for Greener South Loop, the group is being organized by Gail Merritt, president of the Dog PAC group that created and maintains the dog park in the south end of Grant Park, and Mike Kelley, president of the South Loop Neighbors Association. The Greater South Loop Association, Columbia College, Whole Foods, and the Grant Park Advisory Council and Grant Park Conservancy have joined the coalition, with many more groups, businesses, and residents expected to participate.

Chris Karabis, representing 2nd Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti, attended a recent coalition meeting to express the Alderman’s support and his efforts to encourage developers to seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for new projects and renovations in the South Loop.

The coalition will tackle issues such as storm water management, alternate energy sources, recycling, green roofs, gardening, tree planting, and other ecological strategies for residents and businesses throughout the South Loop.

--Marie Balice Ward

 

Cartoonist honored

Gazette cartoonist A.B. Kecom received a prestigious Sarah Brown Boyden Award from the Chicago Journalists Association at the CJA’s 68th annual awards dinner Friday, Sept. 28.

            Kecom won for a cartoon about the Illinois Medical District attempting to shut down baseball fields in Livingston Park in the Tri-Taylor area.

            “As a cartoonist, it is always gratifying when others connect with your work,” Kecom said. “I am honored to have won an award from such an important association.”

            “A.B. has done a great job for us for several years, and the cartoon about the Illinois Medical District showed how shutting down the baseball fields would really hurt local children,” said Mark J. Valentino, editor and publisher of the Gazette.

During the event, officials presented 12 Boyden Awards in various categories, with all other awards going to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Daily Herald.

            In the mid-1930s, the late Sarah Brown Boyden became one of the first female reporters at the Chicago Daily News, moving later to the Chicago Sun and Chicago’s American.

            The CJA was begun in 1939 as the Chicago Press Veterans Association. The CJA today is an organization that provides fellowship and information for journalists and former journalists as well as scholarships for high school and college students.

            For more information, call (312) 458-9792.

            --William S. Bike

 

WCA examines immigration

Robert Blackwood, Chicago district field office director for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), spoke to the West Central Association on immigration at the Mart Hilton on Oct. 17.

            In 2003, the Federal government split the former Immigration and Naturalization Services into three smaller agencies, with two charged with law enforcement and one with benefits, Blackwood explained. The benefits agency has been renamed Citizenship and Immigration Service, and Chicago has a district office under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security. That office adjudicates cases for applicants already living in the U.S.; other service centers handle the remaining applicants.

In 2006, the USCIS Chicago region processed 41,000 applications for naturalization and 15,000 for permanent residency.

Regarding work-related immigration, if an employer considers hiring a foreign-born employee, the approximate cost of application is $2,500. The employer must begin by contacting the Department of Labor to determine if the job falls under the shortage category; the department updates its list of such careers monthly.

If a person arrives in this country with residency status from an employer sponsor but finds the company has violated a portion of the employment contract, the employee may look for comparable employment elsewhere. He or she is not legally bound to the employer who sponsored the residency.

            In the case of non-work related immigration, a family petitioner may apply only for his or her direct family members: parents, siblings, a spouse, and children younger than 18. A sponsoring petitioner is legally and financially liable for ten years, and sponsorship is a binding contract.  

            The U.S. allocates each foreign country a certain number of applicants; the number of people applying for those slots affects the waiting period. Today, the wait for an applicant from Mexico would be about five years, whereas someone from a country like England might wait only 18 months.

Fiancée visas are valid for 90 days; the visa-holder must marry within that period.

Children born in this country, regardless of their parents’ status, are U.S. citizens. The only exceptions are children born to foreign diplomats. 

            Blackwood suggested anyone interested in applying for a prospective employee or non-work related immigration make an appointment through the Internet to ask exact details. “Immigration is a complex issue," he said.

            For more information, log on to www.uscis.gov.

            --Susan Fong

 

Metro Self Storage opens South Loop facility

Metro Self Storage recently opened a modern storage facility in a newly converted warehouse in the South Loop at 601 W. Harrison St.

The property contains more than 100,000 square feet of drive-in, climate-controlled self storage and 50 indoor parking spaces for storing boats, recreational vehicles, and automobiles. Other features include covered drive-in loading and unloading areas, indoor parking, and enhanced security features such as 24-hour video surveillance and computerized access.

A complete selection of moving boxes, moving supplies, and postal and mailing supplies also is available.

Metro Storage LLC manages the property for Harrison/Jefferson Holdings LLC. Metro operates more than 50 locations throughout Illinois, Florida, and Georgia, with more than 20 in the Chicago area. Operating under the trademark Metro Self Storage, it is a fully integrated real estate operating company that develops, acquires, and manages self-storage facilities. Nationally, the company seeks to acquire projects in development or to manage existing operations.

More information is available at www.metrostorage.com or by calling Brian D. Blankenship at (847) 235-8912.