Vision Clinic held for CPS students

For two weeks recently, the closed Jefferson Elementary School, 1522 W. Fillmore St., once again bustled with activity as 5,000 Chicago Public School (CPS) elementary through high school students from more than 100 schools streamed through. Classrooms became eye centers where clinicians tested for color-blindness, eye pressure, nearand farsightedness, and more serious eye problems. In one room, practitioners fitted children with eyeglass lenses and helped them select frames, at no charge to the schools or students.

The Vision Clinic, held each fall and spring, is a partnership between CPS, Communities in Schools of Chicago (CISC), and the Give the Gift of Sight Foundation of Luxottica Group. It helps students meet basic needs—the ability to see the blackboard, read textbooks, and learn and interact with other kids.

Each year, more than 60,000 CPS students fail their vision screenings, and even more are estimated to need glasses. This year, the clinic’s ophthalmologists and opticians tested more than 10,000 CPS students and discovered problems as severe as glaucoma, cataracts, and legal blindness.

For Regina Holloway, a 17-yearold junior at Bronzeville Scholastic Institute, vision problems kept her from seeing the board clearly in her classrooms. She now advocates for the Vision Clinic and encourages her fellow students to attend. “I can see the future in my new glasses,” she said.

An eight-year-old student came in with a severe case of glaucoma that might have led to blindness, noted George Panowko, manager of Luxottica’s Lenscrafters and a clinic volunteer. Now, clinicians are testing that student’s sisters for what might be a hereditary problem.

“The Vision Clinic shows the crucial importance of putting together partnerships to remove the barriers to learning,” said Jane Mentzinger, CISC executive director. “By connecting schools and students, corporate partners, and community volunteers, we can help give students a greater chance for success.”

For more information, call Stephanie Molina at (312) 795-3557.

 

South end of Grant Park to be redesigned

At a meeting of the South Loop Neighbors, Mike Kelly, president, conveyed an announcement by Grant Park Advisory Council/Grant Park Conservancy (GPAC/GPC) President Bob O’Neill that the south end of Grant Park, an area stretching from Ninth Street to Roosevelt Road and from Michigan Avenue to Columbus Drive, will be redesigned to feature fountains, gardens, and sculptures. 

The redesign may require relocating the Agora installation, which consists of 106 monumental headless human figures crafted in cast iron by renowned Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz. A steering committee that will include members of various community groups, including GPAC, and Chicago Park District personnel will hammer out plans for the redesign. Project officials will hold community meetings sometime this summer to solicit input from local residents.

The project also will take the south end of Grant Park from green to “green” by using rainwater and solar energy for fountains, for example. The City and Park District will allocate funds for the effort once the plan is complete, and officials are seeking corporate sponsors as well.

--Marie Balice Ward

 

Shooting at ABLA; seniors concerned

Police responding to a call about shots fired found Quentin Douglas, 22, shot to death in the 1400 block of south Throop Street around 11 a.m. on May 10. Police said Douglas lived at the address, although neighbors said they did not know him.

            Deverra Beverly, president of the ABLA Homes Council, said she believes neither the victim nor the attacker lived in the neighborhood. She added that no one living at ABLA knows either of them because the killer, who remains at large, would have been arrested quickly if he had been an area resident.

Police have made no arrest in the case and have not discovered any motive for the crime. Police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak asked that anyone with information call the Area 4 Violent Crimes Unit at (312) 746-8252.

            At Roosevelt Place, a privately operated building for senior citizens located nearby at 1401 W. Roosevelt Rd., the shooting added to residents’ concerns about unwelcome intruders and prompted 28 to sign a petition calling for a security guard.

            “We have been asking for a guard since we started moving in a year ago,” said Roosevelt Place resident Velma Wallace. “We have had people in the building, roaming the halls at various times. I like the location. I like my apartment. I just don’t feel safe.”

            “Tenants have not reported any security incidents since the building was initially occupied in 2007,” countered Kate Ansorge, project manager for East Lake Management and Development, which runs the building.

            East Lake has “taken several steps to ensure that tenants have a secure environment,” Ansorge said. “There is on-site management, and the property and staff are on 24-hour call.” She also said front and rear entrances and the parking lot have security cameras. A locking gate secures the parking lot, making it available only to tenants who have parking spaces. All tenant keys are non-duplicable.

            Beverly advised that “Somebody in that development should come to the CAPS [community policing] meetings.” She noted some seniors from the building attended one meeting but never came again. CAPS meetings are held at 4 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every other month at 1254 S. Loomis St. The next meeting is Tuesday, June 10.

-- Susan S. Stevens

 

Robbery suspect not security guard

A man arrested after a robbery was wearing a security guard’s t-shirt but does not work for the company that issued the shirt.

            Officers on patrol spotted Corey Dismukes struggling with a woman, allegedly to steal her purse, about 2 a.m. May 12 at Taylor Street and Racine Avenue. Police chased Dismukes and arrested him near the scene of the crime.

            He was wearing a West Side Transformation t-shirt and told police he was in uniform on his way to work.

            “He is not on our payroll, and he is not among the 60 employees here,” said Rachel Andrews, office manager of West Side Transformation and West Side 2000. “We don’t even know who this person is.”

            Dismukes, a resident of the 4700 block of west Monroe Street, was charged with one count of robbery.

            Andrews said the company warned its employees after the robbery to guard against anyone taking their uniforms. The firm patrols Roosevelt Square, University of Illinois at Chicago construction sites, and several other Near West Side locations.

            “We have been working with them for four years and never had a problem,” a Roosevelt Square spokesman said. “They do a lot of good.”

            -- Susan S. Stevens

Next issue July 7

Because Independence Day (the 4th of July) falls on a Friday this year, the next issue of the Gazette will be published Monday, July 7. Advertising deadline is Friday, June 20. Call (312) 243-4288, ext. 2, for more information.

 

Mayor promotes Employer Assisted Housing

Mayor Richard M. Daley urged Chicago businesses to join the City in adopting Employer-Assisted Housing (EAH) programs to make homeownership affordable for their employees and allow them to live near their places of work.

"The development of affordable housing is one of our highest priorities in City government," Daley said. "Providing affordable housing, at all income levels, in ways that strengthen our neighborhoods and support our workforce, is essential for the future of our city. It helps give residents the stake of homeownership in our city, it helps promote mixed-income communities that enhance the lives of our residents, and it helps the participating companies prosper."

EAH uses a range of incentives enabling employees to live near their workplaces. Employers participating in EAH provide employees with financial help, usually in the form of down payment assistance, to buy housing near the workplace. In most cases, employers can recover some of that cost through a credit on their state income tax.

"Of course, the City government is one of the biggest employers in Chicago, and I want to assure you that we are not just talking about Employer-Assisted Housing, we are doing it," Daley said.

The organization Homes for Working Families, which provides practical guidance on how EAH programs work to help employers begin creating their own programs, offers a guidebook, Understanding Employer-Assisted Housing. An electronic copy of can be downloaded at www.homesforworkingfamilies.org, or call the City at (312) 744-3334.

Feds sued over pollution

The Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago (RHAMC), Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and neighborhood and environmental groups recently filed suit against the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approving allegedly flawed air pollution permits for the Fisk and Crawford coal power plants on the West Side. The RHAMC contends the two 1950sera coal plants are among the largest single sources of air pollution in Cook County.

The lawsuit was filed after a long process of administrative appeals to both the Illinois EPA and Federal EPA starting in 2003.

"We have tried unsuccessfully to resolve this situation with State and Federal agencies, but Chicago residents continue to be exposed to clouds of black smoke from the power plants," said Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs at RHAMC.

"No one is above the law," Urbaszewski said. "We cannot allow polluters to blatantly ignore Clean Air Act requirements. This action helps ensure current regulations are enforced."

The lawsuit seeks to reverse the EPA's approval of operating permits that allow the power plants to continually violate Illinois's air pollution opacity regulations. Such regulations govern exhaust opacity: the darker the smoke, the greater the amount of fine-grain soot particles that can rain down on area residents.

Fisk is located at 1111 W. Cermak Rd. and Crawford is located at 3501 S. Pulaski Rd. They are owned by Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of California-based Edison International, a corporation that sells electricity to directly to public utilities like ComEd. The plants emit mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and soot. A 2001 Harvard University School of Public Health study indicated soot pollution from the two plants is linked to more than 40 deaths and 2,800 asthma attacks per year as well as hundreds of emergency room visits and hospitalizations.