The Night Ministry, a nonprofit group that helps the homeless and those in poverty, will be opening the 15-bed shelter at Lakeview Lutheran Church, located at 835 W. Addison St.

Megan Groves, The Night Ministry’s communications coordinator, said the shelter will be open from January through April and is being funded by a grant from the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services.

Groves said the overnight shelter will serve dinner when it opens at 9 p.m. She said breakfast will be served in the morning and bag lunches will be provided. Youth must leave in the morning, but Groves said there’s no limit on the number of nights a youth can stay.

The Night Ministry lists the number of homeless youths in the city of Chicago at 10,000, but measuring the exact number is difficult, said Sarah Sumadi, director of communications at the Center on Halsted. She said if someone is sleeping under the CTA, that’s homeless, but if they have friends letting them crash on their couch, it’s a different situation.

“We usually call them at-risk of becoming homeless. They may not consider themselves homeless. There’s definitely a stigma around that,” said Sumadi.

Jennifer Ritter, executive director of nonprofit advocacy group Lakeview Action Coalition (LAC), said the shelter is for 18- to 24-year-olds. She said it’s the first time the city is opening a youth shelter specifically for that age group.

“It’s very exciting,” said Ritter.

Beth Cunningham, a staff attorney at Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, said the Coalition, The Night Ministry and LAC introduced homeless youth to Mayor Daley last January at an art show and asked him for help. The mayor then had other city officials develop a plan to create additional shelter beds.

Current housing options for homeless youth in Lakeview are limited and dangerous. Ritter said many of them “couch-surf” at their friends’ houses. Ritter said kids will also go to the police station, where a van will pick them up and take them to Pacific Garden Mission, a West Side homeless shelter located at 1458 S. Canal St.

“It is a brutal place,” said Ritter.

Ritter said robberies occur at Pacific Garden Mission and it’s hard for youths to keep their bodies safe. She said kids get sent there just because there’s space.

Sumadi said living situations intensify over the winter.

“My inkling, and I don’t know there are statistics to support this, is that sex work goes up because the situation is really dire. Anything they can do to get a roof over their heads, they’ll do,” said Sumadi.

Sumadi said the Center, located at 3656 N. Halsted St., doesn’t have beds but does have a breakfast club Monday-Thursday, from 8 to 11 a.m. Sumadi said hot meals are provided and a case manager helps the kids get medical services.

Homeless youth in Lakeview also go to the Dunkin’ Donuts at 3200 N. Clark St. to escape the cold. Store manager Carla Vasconez said the owner doesn’t want homeless youth in the store, but she lets them stay 15 minutes when it gets cold outside. Vasconez said she lets them stay longer if they buy something and don’t disturb other customers. She said some youths start fights in the Dunkin ‘N Donuts, and chairs have been thrown.

“I don’t know what they’re on,” said Vasconez.

Vasconez said police have been called a few times, and they want her to fill out restraining orders against the chair throwers.

“I don’t have time to do that,” she said.

Tunney and Winner both filed as candidates with the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners by the Nov.22 deadline. Winner reported receiving 600 signatures and Tunney reported receiving 2,000 signatures.

Winner considers Tunney part of the city council’s old guard and criticized the alderman for not having a “ward night” where neighbors can meet the alderman face-to-face.

“I feel he’s out of tune. We’re a few months out (from the election), he should be out there,” said Winner in a phone interview.

That’s news to Tunney.

“I believe I’m relatively new (to city council). I’m hitting my stride,” said Tunney in a phone interview.

Tunney said that while there is no official ward night, his office is open six days a week.

“Every voice has been heard,” he said.

Tunney said some of his accomplishments the last four years were getting a state-of-the-art police station built at 850 W. Addison St. and donating 90 percent of Wrigley Field concert proceeds to Lake View schools.

“When I walk around, I think I’ve made a difference,” he said.

Bob Clarke, vice president of South East Lake View Neighbors (SELVN), said Tunney brings potential land developers to SELVN meetings and listens to SELVN’s input about approving liquor licenses for establishments.

“If SELVN doesn’t want it, he won’t give it to them,” said Clarke.

He said Winner hasn’t attended a SELVN meeting yet.

Winner said he does have a presence in the community and that would make him an effective alderman. He has lived in Lake View for 12 years and is the former president of the neighborhood group Lake View Citizens Council and a board member of the Lake View East Chamber of Commerce.

“We have to run the city like a business,” said Winner, who is president of DLW Business Consultants, a financial consulting firm.

Winner is against raising property taxes and said he would oppose any plan to do so.

“It cannot happen,” he said.

Other residents of the 44th Ward shared their concerns about crime.

Elliott Fredland, a 10-year Lake View resident, said crime needs to be kept low. Fredland is concerned about Police Supt. Jody Weis’ plan to shuffle officers to neighborhoods that have a high volume of 911 calls.

“The South Side needs more police officers, but what will happen to crime on the North Side? No one really knows,” said Fredland.

Winner agreed. He said while 44th Ward crime stats aren’t high, the area can’t afford to lose any more police officers. He said he would work with the police department and new mayor on this.

“You have to make the mayor aware,” he said.

Winner also discussed his plan to re-draw the ward’s police district lines. Currently the ward consists of two police districts: the 19th District is west of Clark Street and the 23rd District is east of Clark Street. Winner wants to cut off the district line from Clark Street to Racine Avenue, making Clark Street itself one of the districts. Winner said this will ensure the correct district officers are dispatched to the correct address. He said a 23rd District cop can get called to the 19th district and not be able to do anything.

Clarke said the next alderman has his work cut out for him. He mentioned the 1 percent budget cut for Streets and Sanitation in 2011.

“Maintenance and repairs will go down, there’s no money. It will be managing in a reduced environment,” he said.

Clarke referred to the city’s budget deficit, currently at $650 million, as a “train wreck.”

Winner laughed when he was asked why he wants the job of alderman.

“Because I’ve been a community activist and I want to bring the ward back to a grassroots level,” he said.

This is the third aldermanic election for Tunney. His first election was in 2003 and he was the overwhelming winner. Out of 10,125 votes cast, he received 59 percent of the votes. Rick Ingram received 23 percent of the votes and Dean Maragos 13 percent. Winner has never run for alderman.

The 2011 election will be held Feb. 22.

The 238,000-square-foot building will include a surgical center, medical office space and a 260-spot parking garage.

The building’s first five levels will be for parking. The first floor also will include retail space, while the second level will contain office space and the third level will house the surgery center.

Swedish Covenant has had a shortage of office space for the past five years, and the hospital’s current surgical facilities are at full capacity, said Joe Gattuso, an attorney for the hospital.

“This has impeded the hospital’s ability to offer new programs and services to the community,” said Gattuso.

Gattuso told the plan commission the expansion would help the North Side hospital become more efficient and would allow the current surgical facilities to be used for more complex in-patient procedures.

No public money will be used for the expansion, Swedish Covenant Hospital President Mark Newton said in an interview with reporters after the meeting. The total cost of the project will be roughly $49.8 million.

Michael Czyrka, whose company is building the expansion, said the project has been well-received in Ravenswood.

“We’ve held public hearing, and the reaction is, ‘We understand the hospital needs to grow,’” said Czyrka, principal-in-charge of BSA Life Structures.

Czyrka said one change was to make sure hospital traffic exited onto California Avenue and not a residential neighborhood.

“That was a change based on community input,” said Czyrka.

Ald. Patrick O’Connor (40th) said the expansion will be good for the economy.

“Other area hospitals have closed. They (Swedish Covenant) employ people from four zip codes around the hospital. Those people spend money in the area,” he said.

But not everyone was happy with the expansion plan.

Plan commission Chairwoman Linda Searl questioned the need for five levels of parking for a three-level building.

“It seems to me this is overwhelming for this neighborhood,” said Searl.

Gattuso said the five levels of parking are needed to serve both the Swedish Covenant Hospital at 5145 N. California Ave. and the adjacent Professional Plaza at 2740 W. Foster Ave

Newton told Searl the hospital looked at other options, but it’s difficult to expand in an urban setting and keep the hospital growing.

“We have very limited long-term options. This is the only place that we can develop an economical building that will meet both the surgical and medical office spaces,” said Newton.

A parking lot currently sits on the site where the new facility will be built.

After the meeting, Gattuso told reporters the expansion plan has been in the works for years.

“This was the product of a long, careful process involving physicians, patients, hospital administration and after the initial design was conceived, the community and the alderman,” said Gattuso.

But the process is not over yet.

The ordinance will be referred to the Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning on Nov. 23, then onto a full City Council vote in late November.

Saliba Kokaly, Swedish Covenant Hospital’s associate vice president of facilities and construction, said he hopes construction will begin in January.

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Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th). Photo/AP

A new retail/residential development project in Hyde Park won approval Thursday, Aug. 19,  from the Chicago Plan Commission. The mixed-use property along South Harper Avenue and East Hyde Park Boulevard will contain 179 condominium units in two buildings, a two-level retail center and a 400-spot parking garage. City officials hope developing the area will draw new retailers to the South Side neighborhood home to the University of Chicago.

“The current shopping center is 50 years old, maybe more than that,” said  Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th). “Its not particularly attractive. This is a development that will hold the street a little better and bring in some new retail, which I think will be well-received.”

Aside from bringing in new stores, the $100 million project will add jobs and housing.

“It will probably come in two stages,” said Antheus Capital partner Eli Ungar of providing jobs. Ungar’s company is financing the project and owns 80 buildings in Hyde Park. “First of all, the construction itself (will provide jobs), and this at a time when there aren’t a lot of construction projects getting going. (This will create) hundreds of jobs. And whoever ends up in those facilities will create a lot of long-time jobs.”

The pre-development and construction will be handled by Silliman Group, LLC.

“The first residential tower will be 22 floors total, with two floors for retail. The mid-rise tower will be nine floors,” said Peter Cassel, director of the Silliman Group.

One to three bedroom condos are planned for the residential space, and according to Ungar, “there is an affordable housing component to our project. Our hope is it will be an attractive option for a broad range of buyers.”

“Fifteen percent will be affordable housing. The for sale price will be established by the market terms, and the income level of the buyer,” said Cassel.

A mix of large and small retailers will be approached.

“There are a number of missing retailers in Hyde Park,” Ungar said. “There is a shortage of apparel stores and house-ware stores. I don’t want a monolithic power center where you get three big national retailers. I’d be much happier with a mix of local retailers and national retailers.”

Ungar declined to comment on which stores had been approached.

Hyde Park residents—in particular senior citizens—are taking to the project.

“There is lots of excitement,” said Jennifer Bosch, executive director of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club. “I have attended senior meetings, and they feel their needs are being met. The design elements are addressing easily accessible stores.”

The Chicago Plan Commission unanimously approved the project, which now goes to the Chicago City Council Zoning Committee for consideration. The project must be approved by the full city council before construction can begin.

“The drawings will take six months,” said Cassel. “Construction will start in 18 to 24 months.”

The land currently contains an Original House of Pancakes and Village Foods. A drive-thru will be installed so trucks making deliveries to Village Foods will not impede traffic.

Brandon Campbell and Charmaine Little contributed to this story.