A news report from Ed Finkel, New Communities Program Summer in the city has meant no shortage of outdoor activities in New Communities Program neighborhoods, ranging from the annual Basketball on the Block and Hoops in the Hood basketball leagues, to a blooming array of farmers markets and street festivals of all varieties. The...
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The 48 Hour Film Project is taking Chicago by storm this weekend, Aug. 13 through Aug. 15, ad hundreds of Chicagoans will race to complete an entire film in just one weekend. The 48 Hour Film Project is the world’s largest filmmaking competition, and each year it visits nearly 90 cities. Completing the film...
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A news report from Mike Fourcher, Center Square Journal Last night Ravenswood Bank, 2300 W. Lawrence Ave., was taken over by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and put into the receivership of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Ravenswood’s doors opened again this morning as branches of Northbrook Bank and Trust Company, a division...
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A news report from Lorraine Swanson, Lake Effect News There’s a stiff sea breeze blowing across the Land of Lincoln from an auditorium at Loyola University off the shore of Lake Michigan on a day when former-Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s balls suddenly receded up into his underpants. About a hundred, average, everyday folks from across...
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A report from Maureen Kelleher, Chicago’s New Communities Program While national economic headlines feature job losses and stock market shakeups, NCP neighborhood economics rely heavily on the smallest businesses – microbusinesses employing no more than five people. Surprising numbers of these tiny enterprises are fighting the economic tide to survive and even thrive amidst recession....
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A news report from Bill Healy, Chicago Neighborhood Stabilization Program “When you gonna come work for me?” Melvin Bailey shouts at a young man walking down Homan Avenue on the city’s West Side. “We got orientation coming up next week.” The young man’s pants are sagging, a look Bailey says is unacceptable in the...
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A news report from Ed Finkel, New Communities Program Residents of South Chicago and surrounding neighborhoods visited eco-friendly buildings and other environmentally significant sites in their communities during the Green Summit Tour on May 29. Coordinated by NCP lead agency Claretian Associates and narrated by Ald. John Pope (10th), the three-hour-long meandering journey on a bus...
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A news report from Kasheika Brown, New Communities Program On a hot summer-like day in June, the Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation (GADC) hosted their bi-annual “Health Fair on Block” on west 79th Street. Inclement weather forecast did not hinder the success of this event. An estimated 500 – 600 people stopped to get free health screenings and receive valuable information...
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A news report from Ed Finkel, New Communities Program Ninety-four low-income families have begun moving into the Rosa Parks Apartments, a new, affordable development spearheaded by Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. in West Humboldt Park. Rosa Parks will consist of eight pre-cast masonry buildings erected on vacant land, clustered on six blocks within three-quarters of a mile...
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A news report by: Stacey Alletto, Brigette S. Burnett, Lauren Hales and Hollie Hojek At a nursing home in Bronzeville, state inspectors found a resident soaked in urine.  At a nursing facility in Elmhurst, some patients lost dangerous amounts of weight because they weren’t fed properly. And at an Oak Lawn nursing home, an...
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