Foreclosure counseling available

Counseling services are available for Illinois residents facing foreclosure on their houses, thanks to $2.4 million in federal funds recently awarded to Illinois agencies.

In late February, NeighborWorks America awarded $130 million in federal funds to 32 states’ housing finance agencies, including the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), 16 federal Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved housing counseling intermediaries, and 82 community based NeighborWorks organizations.

IHDA received $1.57 million, which it will distribute to 18 non-profit housing counseling agencies across the state to help them reach 4,000 families.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago received $820,000, the second largest award of the NeighborWorks organizations, to aid its foreclosure intervention efforts.

House owners who are having trouble meeting their mortgage payments should call the Homeowners’ Hope Hotline at 1(888) 995-HOPE (4673).

--Marie Balice Ward

 

New Police district commanders named

The Chicago Police Department recently announced a shakeup among district commanders. In this area, The 1st and 9th Districts are unaffected, but Districts 10 through 13 and 21 have seen changes:

Commander Kevin Ryan remains commander at the 1st District, 1718 S. State St. 

At the 9th District, 3501 S. Lowe Ave., Eugene Roy remains as commander. 

Beatrice Cuello was promoted to chief of patrol at headquarters, and Roberto Zavala now is commander at the 10th District, 3315 W. Ogden Ave. 

At the 11th District, 3151 W. Harrison St., James Jackson has been promoted to headquarters as first deputy superintendent, and Eric Washington has been named commander.

The 12th District, 100 S. Racine Ave., has a new commander, Dennis Keane. He replaces Ron Sodini, who was promoted to headquarters. 

Judith Martin was named commander at the 13th District, 937 N. Wood St., replacing Christine Kolman, who was promoted to headquarters.

At the 21st District, 300 E. 29th St., John Doty was named commander after Howard Lodding’s promotion to assistant deputy superintendent of the Bureau of Information Services at headquarters.

--Marie Balice Ward

 

NB Lakeside Lakeside Bank celebrates Money  Smart Week

In honor of Money Smart Week, Lakeside Bank is offering a host of free activities from Sunday, April 20, through Saturday, April 26.

                On Wednesday, April 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Lakeside will offer Protecting Your Privacy & Security: Identity Theft in Today’s Society at 2800 N. Ashland Ave. Advance registration is required, and refreshments will be served.  RSVP by Sunday, April 20, to Erica at (312) 567-1011 or echianelli@lakesidebank.com.

                On Thursday, April 24, from 5 to 6 p.m. Lakeside will sponsor a community workshop on investing at the Valentine Boys and Girls Club, 3400 S. Emerald Ave. The event will feature the Wealth Warriors, members of the Ujamaa Junior Investment Club, which welcomes boys and girls 12 to 18. Teen speakers will address importance of saving and investing at a young age. RSVP by Wednesday, April 23, to Erica at (312) 567-1011 or echianelli@lakesidebank.com.

                On Friday, April 25, Lakeside will partner with the Chinese American Service League (CASL) to offer a workshop, Paying for Your College Education, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at CASL, 2141 S. Tan Ct. An expert from the Illinois Institute of Technology will provide tips on applying for college financial aid. Participants also will receive information about grants and scholarship opportunities, many of which are geared specifically toward Asian Americans. Free pizza will be served. RSVP to Joanna Lu or Wendy Cheung at CASL at (312) 791-0418, ext. 3601, by Wednesday, April 23.

For more information about Money Smart Week, visit www.moneysmartweek.org. For more information about Lakeside Bank visit www.lakesidebank.com.

Local area Salvation Army sites to remain

The Salvation Army recently announced plans for a $160 million community center in the city’s Pullman neighborhood on the South Side. The 33-acre site at 1200 W. 119th St. will offer an outdoor stadium, job training, a fitness center, and a 5,000-seat indoor sports complex. While the new center will provide amenities other Chicago area community centers do not, it will not detract from existing centers, including the ones in this community at 20 S. Campbell Ave. and 105 S. Ashland. “If anything, the new center will improve services offered at community centers,” said Michael Braver, a Salvation Army spokesperson.

The center will be paid for in part by a portion of the $1.5 billion grant the late Joan Kroc, wife of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, left the Salvation Army in her will. It will be called the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center. Kroc’s grant was given “to construct and develop world-class recreational, educational, and ministry centers” across the country, according to a Salvation Army statement. These funds can be used only for the centers and not for the Salvation Army’s charitable services such as providing food and shelter to the needy.

Scott Alwin, director of public relations for the Salvation Army’s Metro Division, said the organization has not determined whether existing community centers will be upgraded.

The Kroc grant will be used to construct similar centers across the county. It was divided equally among the Salvation Army’s four regional headquarters or territories in Des Plaines, IL; West Nyack, NY; Atlanta; and Long Beach, CA. In addition to Chicago’s new center, six others will be constructed in Midwest municipalities, including Detroit, Green Bay, and Quincy, IL.

Each center will be different, although Kroc requested that all provide programs for at-risk youth, enhance involvement in the arts, and fill unmet recreational needs. The new Chicago center will include a performing arts theater, baseball and soccer fields, and basketball courts. It will offer classes in GED preparation, computer literacy, financial planning, and culinary arts as well as after school programs for children, a media center, and studios for music classes. The Kroc grant will pay $109.8 million of the cost; the rest will come from Salvation Army fundraising.

The Salvation Army announced it hopes to complete the center by 2010 but must raise $28 million before it breaks ground.

 —Hayley Carlton

 

Lighthouse groundbreaking scheduled

The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired will kick off an ambitious expansion project with a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, April 18, at 10 a.m. at 1850 W. Roosevelt Rd., where the 102-year-old social service agency has operated since the mid 1950s.

Set for completion by mid 2009, the renovation will enlarge the Lighthouse’s current facility by 12,000 square feet, enabling the organization to expand existing programs and introduce new ones. Improvements will include an enlarged low vision clinic, an expanded retail store selling adaptive equipment and independent living aids, an employment program for blind veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and a music education and recreation center. 

For more information log on to www.chicagolighthouse.org or call (312) 666-1331.

--Marie Balice Ward

 

Construction begins for next phase of Legends South 

Michaels Development Co., Brinshore Development, and the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) have announced plans to begin construction on the second off-site phase of Legends South. The development, known as Legends C-2, will hold 118 units consisting of 52 public housing units reserved for CHA residents, 43 affordable units, and 23 market-rate units. These dwellings are part of the mixed-income replacement housing for the former Robert Taylor Homes under CHA’s Plan for Transformation.

            Legends C-2 will occupy four sites within the boundaries of 39th and 43rd Streets and Prairie and Wabash Avenues, adding complementary housing to Mahalia Place, the first off-site phase of Legends South.

            “The architecture of Legends South is designed to blend in with the historical surroundings of the Grand Boulevard neighborhood,” said Development Manager Anthony Alvarez. “This phase will follow suit with the construction of contextually designed town homes and three- to 12-flat buildings with masonry facades.”

            Hansberry Square, the first on-site phase of Legends South, wrapped up construction in November; all 181 units of the mixed-income development have been leased to residents paying affordable and market rate rents and to CHA families. 

“We are pleased with the success of the first two phases of Legends South and appreciate the opportunity to continue to play a role in the ongoing revitalization of the community,” said Whitney Weller, vice president of development for Michaels. “With the addition of the new community center and adjacent park at Hansberry Square, we are looking forward to providing community residents with attractive and useful amenities.”  

The phase’s cost exceeds $35 million, with more than $27 million coming from private funding sources. The first public housing units for Legends C-2 will be completed in late 2008.

            For more information, call (312) 913-7482.

 

Italian authors to speak

The Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia will present "Reconstructing Italians in Chicago: Twenty Authors in Search of Roots and Branches," a conference scheduled for Thursday, May 8, through Sunday, May 11, at Casa Italia, 3800 Division St., Stone Park, IL.

            Additional sponsors are the National Italian American Foundation, the Illinois Humanities Council, the Italian American Executives of Transportation, Leonard Amari, and Freddy's Pizza.

            The conference will bring together authors who have written about Chicago Italian American issues to evaluate their writings. It will use a single-session format in which all program presenters will get to hear and comment on all presentations.

            Using video recordings and written submissions, the sponsors will capture the proceedings and publish them digitally and as hard copy. The goal is to produce a new anthology that will serve at the essential contemporary basic source on the topic of Italians in Chicago.

            Among the authors who are expected to do presentations are Michael Antonucci, Tony Ardizzone, Peter L. Belmonte,, Kathy Catrambone, Bill Dal Cerro, Fr. Gino Dalpiaz, Annette Dixon, Fred L. Gardaphé, Jenny Floro-Khalaf, Billy Lombardo, Calogero Lombardo, Robert Lombardo, Rose Ann Rabiola Miele, Gary Mormino, Gloria Nardini, Dan Niemiec, Humbert Nelli, Peter Pero, Tony Romano, Judy Santacaterina, and Peter Venturelli.

            The early bird conference fee---which includes all sessions as well as several meals and all breaks and receptions, conference materials, and membership in the pre-conference, listserv is $100.

            Make out checks to Casa Italia and direct them to 3800 Division St., Stone Park, IL 60165. A  limited number of Casa Italia sleeping rooms will be available at $30 per night. For additional information, contact Dominic Candeloro at (847) 951-9109.

 

Military high school opens

United States Marine, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and City officials gathered Oct. 15 for a commissioning ceremony at the Chicago Public Schools’ new Marine Military Math and Science Academy at the Grant Campus, 145 S. Campbell Ave. The academy opened this fall and is the first public Marine Military Academy High School in the nation. It serves about 130 ninth graders, and its enrollment is expected to climb to about 550 students over the next three years when at full enrollment.

            “We’re extremely pleased to have a great new option here at the Marine Military Academy for our families on the West Side and across the city,” CPS CEO Arne Duncan said.

            The Marine Military Math and Science Academy has partnered with Argonne National Laboratories, which will provide internships for students and professional development training for teachers. 

            The school will house a National Aeronautics and Space Administration lab to enable students to learn about space travel and use equipment such as a flight simulator and a wind tunnel. 

Following the commissioning, a brief groundbreaking was held outside the school to commemorate the start of a multi-million-dollar expansion of the Grant Campus, which houses the Marine and Phoenix military academies. The addition will provide a gym, locker rooms, military supply rooms, a pool, a fitness center, a daycare center, and a community center. CPS and the Illinois Facilities Fund are paying for the expansion, which will be completed in phases during the next few years.

For more information, call (773) 553-1620.

 

UIC wins grant to prepare principals

The University of Illinois at Chicago's (UIC’s) Urban Education Leadership program has received a $2.1 million grant through the Eli Broad Foundation to prepare 50 principals for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) over the next three years. UIC is the first university the foundation has funded for this effort since making principal training a priority.

            The Urban Education Leadership program is part of the UIC College of Education's doctoral program and is designed to improve student achievement in urban schools by cultivating effective school leaders.

            The program’s goal is to "transform school cultures into thriving learning communities for students and teachers," said Peter Martinez, director of school leadership coaching.

            "The Broad grant will enable UIC to support this kind of school transformation through a network of UIC principals who receive intensive coaching," added Martinez, who co-founded the Ed.D. program with Steve Tozer, its coordinator.

            "The coaches hired with this grant money will be former CPS principals who have demonstrated that leadership can successfully focus urban school cultures on student learning," Martinez said.

For more information, call (312) 413-8702.

 

Kids Hope United unveils new child development center

Alderman James Balcer (11th Ward) and other community residents were on hand at a special ribbon-cutting ceremony recently to welcome the new Bridgeport Child Development Center II, a program of Kids Hope United that offers affordable child care and Head Start programs.

            “I can’t stress how important education is,” said Balcer at the grand opening. “Learning begins at the earliest stages of life, and I commend everyone here at the school.”

            Grace Didicher, who attended the original Bridgeport Child Development Center in the 1980s and enrolled her son into the new center, said, “We need more places like this making a difference in the community, one child at a time.”

            The new center is the organization’s second in Bridgeport and will serve 56 children ages two to five in three classrooms. The center is located within Kids Hope United’s Annie Jo Dawson Service Center, 514 W. 31st St. Call (312) 842-5566.

            --Miriam Cintron

 

Park District events

The Chicago Park District presents a variety of family events this spring.

Fuller Park , 331 W. 45th St. will host a Gym Showcase where children display their talents. Cost is $2 for all ages on Friday, Apr. 18, from 7 to 8 p.m. Call (312) 747-6144.

All ages can spruce-up the following parks on Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, Apr. 19, from 10 a.m. to noon at Dvorak Park, 1119 W.

Cullerton St., (312) 746-5083; Union Park, 1501 W. Randolph St., (312) 746-5494; Pulaski Park, 1419 W. Blackhawk St., (312) 742-7559; and Eckhart Park, 1330 W. Chicago Ave., (312) 746-5490.

Celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, Apr. 26, from 10 a.m. to noon at Wicker Park , 1425 N. Damen Ave., (312) 742-7553; and Smith Park, 2526 W. Grand Ave. (312) 742-7535.

 

Networking event set for April 26

A community networking event will provide the opportunity to meet business professionals in the Heart of Chicago community.

The event will be held at Coffee Pot & Mail Drop, 2725 S. Archer Ave., Saturday, April 26, at 6 p.m. The event will feature business displays, prizes, food, drink, and a guest speaker who will discuss making a difference in the community and supporting local businesses. For more information, contact Roy Lee at royl1@sbcglobal.net.