The Chicago Police Department has said that they cannot alleviate the situation alone, and are looking for assistance from the community. This summer, much like others in the past, the police are looking to the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy program, a 15-year old program that provides a unique outlet to Chicago communities.

“CAPS is about the best thing that happened to the community,” said Willie Morrow, a lifelong resident of Gresham and beat facilitator of the 6th police district.

CAPS, a problem solving tool that opens communication and partnerships with the community, has consistently had the support and input from communities. The 6th district has been an active participant of CAPS, but that hasn’t stopped violent crime in the neighborhood which is leading to residents questioning its effectiveness.

The 6th district has close to 100,000 residents, which has undoubtedly been a contributing factor to violence in the area. The district, nine miles big, has 310 officers to patrol the streets. And when the public housing projects were vacated nearly five years ago, there was an influx of residents relocating to the neighborhoods.

“We can’t arrest our way out of the situation,” said Rich Wooten, officer and CAPS liaison for the 6th district.

He said instead, CAPS offers a variety of programs and services to the residents each month. Residents can get involved in by attending any of the events including, crime prevention seminars, family service resources, record expungements and job fairs. The programs are not exclusive to the 6th district, but all are oriented toward helping the community and building a symbiotic bond.

“This helps CAPS bring down crime and help the people at the same time,” said Theresa Hubbard, a Gresham resident and organizer for the CAPS jobs fairs.

The 6th district jobs fairs have become so popular that they were forced to relocate to a bigger venue. On May 20, the job fairs were moved to the AFC Center, which has more space and is more practical, Hubbard said. She added that at last month’s job fair there were over 1,000 people, the largest turnout yet, lined around the block to get in contact with the 38 vendors.

Chicago has 25 police districts divided into 279 beats. CAPS has monthly beat meetings to share information, discuss strategies and problem-solve. All beat residents are encouraged to attend – participation is calculated by attendance.

“We got this opportunity, don’t let it go because what’s better than knowing who your officer is?” said Beverly Williams, CAPS community organizer.

Williams started working in CAPS when it was a pilot program funded by federal grants in 1993.  After proven successful in its five test districts, the 6th being one, the program was adopted by the Chicago Police Department and expanded to all 25 districts. Since 1995, CAPS has evolved greatly because of community involvement, Wooten said.

In the past the police department would primarily run the two-hour beat meetings, that has since changed due to its ineffectiveness, Morrow said.

“We’d get nothing done,” said Morrow, who’s been beat 614 facilitator since 1995.

Morrow and the CAPS office joined forces in 1998, and implemented a new strategy which included implementing an agenda and systematic order of running the new one-hour meetings.

At each meeting, residents and the police department bring forth new business, and remedy old, unfinished business. Each month’s crime data, as well as maps that include where crimes were committed are provided. The meetings are the essential effective component of CAPS, Wooten said.

“It creates a better understanding of the police department and what they’re doing for the community,” said Mary Castle-Enyard, co-facilitator of beat 614.

There are 12 beats in the 6th district, and although community participation has been increasing, crime is still prevalent.

“We’re not problem solving enough,” said Williams.

Problems are solved block-by-block. Williams said knowing your neighbor is crucial in crime prevention.

She said that a clean, orderly block deters criminals while uncut grass with vacant buildings is a breeding ground for illegal activity. She added that generally when a crime occurs it’s usually because the offender knows somebody on that block.

“The only way to solve problems in the neighborhood is you got to reach out to your neighbors,” said Morrow.

In 2007, Williams and Morrow started a new strategy in the 6th district – total block organization.  They gathered polling sheets that had the names and addresses for everyone in beat 614; then four teams of two spent roughly four hours a day knocking on the doors of the 120 blocks in the beat.

“This is something that’s never been done in CAPS before,” Williams said, although she has been advocating it for a while.

The teams introduce themselves, and talk about the importance of getting involved with CAPS. Most residents were unfamiliar with their neighbors, and there were a handful that had been living on the same block for over 30 years, Castle-Enyard said.

“You can’t be in jail in your own home, you have to get involved,” she said.

As a result of the new program, Morrow organized 60 block representatives who report to him weekly. The widespread intelligence gathered has assisted in prevention, and kept crime low in beat 614. The program also increased the attendance at CAPS meetings.

Community involvement is even more instrumental after budget cuts have scaled down police resources, Wooten said.

“Community members have to step up their game and help the police department take back their streets,” he said.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U2H07RVbgw[/youtube]

“The volume has gone away and it’s probably not going to come back to the levels that we’ve seen,” said Mark Reynolds, U.S. Postal Service spokesman.

Despite the emerging challenges, the postal service has a competitive advantage with its workforce – specifically its carriers. Six days a week, carriers bring a face to their company and the ability to improve on customer satisfaction.

Every workday, James Hundley, 61, brings a professional work ethic, attitude and smile to the job. He’s spent his 17-year career on route 703 in the South Loop, building relationships and delivering satisfaction. He enjoys seeing the same people everyday, but greeting them in a different way.

“Each day you don’t know what a person is going through,” Hundley said. “But just by giving them some attention that can make a person’s day.”

Watch the Video Here: A Postal Carrier’s Day

The customers are greeted with a smile and pleasant “How are you?” from Anne. After a few minutes of decision making, one customer asks for a single chocolate glazed. She asks Anne to heat it in the microwave.

“I bet they’ll be just heaven-heated,” the customer said. Anne says she’s not supposed to, but the customer pleads — “Just 10 seconds.” Anne looks at the customer, exhales a breath and gives in. The customer pays 98 cents and walks out with a smile.

“To produce a good quality, fresh doughnut, cut by hand is something really hard to find,” said Darryl Townson, owner and operator of Dat Donuts.

Dat Donuts, 8251 S. Cottage Grove Ave., has been open in the Chatham neighborhood for 16 years. Success led Townson to open a second location, 1979 W. 111th St., in the Beverly neighborhood eight months ago.

Independent doughnut shops used to fill the Chicagoland area, but competing against national behemoth Dunkin Donuts was a futile fight for many. Dunkin Donuts has held a competitive advantage, between automated equipment and purchasing power over goods. However, they cannot compete against the freshness and local touch independent doughnut shops offer.

The big retailers thrive because their efficiency of scale allows them to set prices at the absolute lowest because profits are spread over numerous outlets, said Heidi Hedeker, member of the Chicago Area Retail Bakers Association.

“An independent business person isn’t able to make money on that margin, so they’re forced to go out of business,” Hedeker said.

Dunkin Donuts are individually owned by franchisees and do not discuss details of sales and operating costs, said Carrie Reckert, spokesperson for Dunkin Donuts.

“Our strength is the value we offer,” Reckert said in an email. “Research says that our consumers consider Dunkin Donuts to be a very good value and of course that is critical in this economy.”

The intense work needed to operate these independent businesses is another contributing factor to their dwindling existence.

“It’s an 18-20 hour day job,” Townson said.  “With a small business like this, you have to be hands-on with everything.”

Ron Pavelka has operated Bridgeport Bakery, 2907 S. Archer Ave., for 35 years. He has two bakers who start at 10:30 p.m.; he shows up at midnight to assist. Another employee starts at 3 a.m. to wrap wholesale product, a driver shows up at 4:30 a.m. and the storefront clerk starts at 6.

“It gets a little complicated, but that’s the way I like it,” Pavelka said.

Bridgeport Bakery sells a wide variety of cake and yeast doughnuts, coffee and wedding cakes and fresh-baked bread. It sells a portion of products at wholesale to grocery stores.

“When the front’s slow we sell out the back to keep us busy,” Pavelka said.

A key ingredient for successful doughnut shops is to offer other products or services. Peak doughnut season is between September and April, Townson said, because the hot weather makes heavy doughy food undesirable in conjunction. Also, he said, people in the summer tend to watch their weight.

Dat Donuts has an ice cream parlor to cool the summertime appetite and offers breakfast sandwiches to meet morning traffic demand.

The personal customer interaction and the relationship established with the community is another ingredient for successful small businesses.

“It’s a more human landscape than these other places,” said Hedeker. “There’s a protocol for handling every transaction.”

When Sawyer Lahr was living in the Bridgeport neighborhood, he would stop in the bakery each morning on his way to work, always greeted with familiar smiles and small talk. Sometimes if he didn’t have exact change for a pastry, the cashier covered him.

“I was taken by their simplicity,” Lahr said. “It’s always fresh, they bake it everyday.”

“People demand a fresh product and when they can see you making it out here in front of them producing it, that’s how you satisfy your customers,” Townson said.

The youth craze for Bollywood dancing is the biggest competition for classical Indian dance schools, said Pranita Jain, artistic director of Kalapriya.

“Bollywood dancing is instant gratification,” Jain said. “What I teach is a long tradition of classical art form.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHws5pdRkC4[/youtube]

Despite the competition, classical Indian dance schools remain strong in membership and maintaining their cultural significance.

Dancing plays an integral role in Indian heritage and culture; the practice started as a folk tradition and is still used to tell mythological stories. Each classical form originated from a region of the Indian subcontinent.

Kalapriya, 1438 E. 57th St., has specialized in the classical Bharata Natyam dance form since its founding in 1994. Bharata Natyam originated from the southern state Tamil Nadu and is globally the most popular. It was created as a higher form of entertainment for the gods, according to myth.

“[Bharata Natyam] is kind of creative expression using your body,” said 15-year-old Angira Shirahatti, a nine-year Bharata Natyam dancer at Kalapriya.

Bharata Natyam uses specific sets of hand gestures, facial expressions, foot patterns and rhythms to tell stories; dancers cannot use their hips or chest because it’s considered seductive. Bollywood dancing, on the other hand, is a combination of Indian hip hop, jazz and Bhangra, danced to simple beats without a set pattern.

“Because it’s a pop style, it’s more conducive toward people who want to pick up on a fad, jump into a class and take something that doesn’t require a lot of dedication,” said Anjal Chande, director of Soham Dance Space.

Chande teaches Bharata Natyam at the Soham Dance Space, 922 N. Damen Ave. Chande started learning at the age of 7 when she accompanied her mother to dance classes. Most Bharata Natyam dancers start at 5 or 6 years old and carry on through high school.

“She’s very impressed with dance,” said Niranjani Prabhakar of her 6-year-old daughter who started Bharata Natyam dancing at Kalapriya in October.  “We wanted to give her something from our Indian heritage.”

The cultural teachings provided by classical dance is the most common reason for learning, said Jain. There were very few classical Indian dance teachers when Jain came to Chicago in 1991.  Since then the Indian immigrant population has increased, creating more demand for teachers.

Chande, 25, is a second generation Indian who admires Chicago’s cultural diversity. That is the reason she started her school here.

“The classical arts in general, you think there’s a very limited audience to begin with, but I think there’s a lot of potential to connect with a lot more people,” Chande said.

The growing appreciation of classical Indian dance led Kalapriya to experiment with multicultural dance forms, which began in 2001.  The experimentations are a mix of dance forms from Asia, Africa and Indonesia that tell stories with universal themes.

The shows have been performed at different Chicago Public Schools.  A cross cultural festival will be held at the Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St., from April 30-May 1.

Over the last five years 1,256 legislative scholarships were given to graduate students, worth $17.6 million, according to annual reports compiled by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Close to 300 recipients were enrolled in dental, law and medical school at eight state universities.

In return, graduate winners are asked to do nothing. That’s in contrast to most full-ride dental, law and medical school scholarships offered around the country that require students to work in underserved areas once they’ve completed their degrees.

For instance, the National Service Corps scholarship offered through the U.S. Human Resource and Services Administration requires a minimum two-year commitment.

“Many places across the country are undersupplied with medical practitioners, particularly primary care doctors, dentists and nurses,” said David Bowman, spokesman for the Health Resources and Service Administration.

The federal agency received $300 million from the recent stimulus act that will be used to expand the number of scholarships offered and grad school loans repaid.

That’s the kind of commitment that should be considered for the Illinois legislative scholarship winners, higher education experts say.

The 163 Illinois legislators who participate in the century-old scholarship program mostly fund undergraduate students who live in their districts. District residency is the only requirement in the state’s scholarship law. In 2007-2008, the most recent data available, 53 lawmakers awarded the more generous graduate scholarships.

Over the last five years, Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) has given the greatest number of scholarships to graduate students. Since 2003, she’s awarded 20 one-year scholarships for dental, law and medical school students.

“It just so happened” that way, said Sonia Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the senator. Martinez’s scholarship selection committee “may have chosen [graduate students] because their needs are greater,” Sanchez said.

An independent committee chooses the recipients based on financial need, academic achievement, community activism and a desire to give back, Sanchez said, and the senator is not involved in the selection process. The office receives close to 30 applications a year, Sanchez said.

Sens. William Haine (D-Alton) and Kirk Dillard (R-Westmont) appear to be the only two participating legislators who decline to give scholarships to students attending dental, law or medical school, a team of Columbia College Chicago journalists found in a three-month investigation done in collaboration with Illinois Statehouse News.

“It’s too heavy of a burden on schools,” Haine said.

In 2008, 67 medical students at the University of Illinois at Chicago received legislative scholarships worth $2.2 million. Yearly tuition of $33,086 was waived for the legislative scholarship winners, forcing the medical school to make up the difference.

That same year, 18 dentistry students at the University of Illinois at Chicago received fee waivers worth $648,000. Annual tuition costs about $36,000, with an additional $12,000 for fees and instruments.

Students are encouraged to apply for as many scholarships as possible, with recipients awarded as little as $500, said Darryl Pendleton, associate dean for student and diversity affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago dental school.

But there are “very few” full-ride scholarships available, Pendleton said, noting, “the school receives less tuition revenue because of the [legislative] scholarships.”

Cheon Joo Yoon, a second-year dental student at the school, is a two-time scholarship winner. The 34-year-old South Korean immigrant came to America in 2001 to pursue his dream of becoming a dentist.

“In Korea, I couldn’t get into to dental school, then I got a second chance in the United States . . . Hopefully, I’ll have the chance to provide people in need with free health care,” he said, though the scholarship doesn’t require him to do so.

Henry Sondheimer, senior director of student affairs at the American Association of Medical Colleges, said the scholarships he’s familiar with – those given on merit or financial need – usually require recipients to work in a certain area for a set amount of time after graduation. Smaller states with fewer medical schools tend to require working in areas that have a shortage of doctors, Sondheimer said.

Illinois has no such requirement, though some of Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s colleagues have told him they hope graduate students they’ve selected for the scholarship do something in return for their free tuition.

The Orland Park Democrat refuses to participate in the program. One reason, he says, is the public universities and the rest of the students end up paying for the scholarships. And the value of the scholarships vary drastically, based on whether the student is getting an undergraduate degree or going to graduate school.

Someone could receive a $30,000 scholarship for dental school, McCarthy said, and despite what his colleagues may hope, he notes there’s no guarantee the student will return to the district to pay it back.

Laura Lane contributed to this story.

Contact: [email protected]

View more than 6,000 scholarships awarded by current lawmakers.

Other stories from Day One:

One Scholarship, 163 Ways to Dole It Out

Evasive State Legislators Dodge Questions About Scholarships

Clout or Coincidence? Some Legislators Keep General Assembly Scholarships All in the Family

Day Two stories:

Some Lawmakers Turn a Right into a Requirement

Nobody’s Watching: Illinois Lawmakers Alone Decide How to Give Millions

No Method to the Madness: State Scholarships Award Some Students More than Others

Students’ Free Ride Proves Costly to Their Classmates

Day Three stories:

State Legislative Scholarships Could Be Eliminated

For Richer or Poorer? Legislative Scholarships Should Target the Needy

Experts Suggest Changes to Legislative Scholarships

“This is ridiculous, this is so outdated, who would even think condos when the market was slowing down last year,” said Anna Klocek, a Jefferson Park realtor.

The 200-page study was completed in August 2008 and despite an economic downturn and home foreclosure crisis, the plan has not changed.

It was prepared by the architecture and planning firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP.  The city’s Department of Zoning  hired the firm using tax increment financing dollars.

The Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association finally received the plan after multiple attempts including Freedom of Information requests over the past year failed.

The group does not like what it sees.

“The citizens in this area feel that we are treated as an after thought by not only our own alderman, but also by the planning department instead of being a participant in these plans,” said Merril Miller, president of the association in an email.

Ald. Patrick Levar (45th) said he has not seen a copy of the plan either despite submitting a request.

The study details new development and re-zoning along the Milwaukee and Lawrence Avenues intersection, near the Jefferson Park CTA terminal. It recommends the highest density zoning classification for this area.

“[The planning firm] said we should have higher buildings around the train station because that’s what happens to other big cities,” Levar said.

Since the plan is only a preliminary design and given our economic climate, Levar does not think the plan will remain as is.
The plan calls for buildings and condos up to eight stories, which some residents think is too big.

“[Residents] are home buyers and bungalow people,” said Lotty Blumenthal, long time resident and secretary to the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association.

Another big concern residents have with the plan is congestion. Milwaukee Avenue has a high traffic volume and there is no plan for widening it.

“Even if we were to put 500 extra condos, they’ll be traffic havoc,” Klocek said.

The plan also does not include a new school to accommodate the potential influx of families, which is the plan’s stated long-term goal.

“[Our schools] are all over crowded,” said Blumenthal. “Even if half of the condo units have one kid that’s 800, where are we going to put them?”

“These are just some ideas [the planners] had, threw them in a report, and I’m still waiting for a copy,” Levar said.  He is more in favor of placing an affordable grocery store in the neighborhood such as a Pick N’ Save.

The planning firm coordinated three to four community meetings with the Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce, a small group of select community members and Levar. The Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association was not included.

On June 18 the Chicago Plan Commission deferred hearing the development proposal due to a congested agenda.  As of now, a new hearing date has not been set.

The project’s estimated cost is $130 million; CPS will provide $40 million while the other $90 million will come from tax increment financing (TIFs). Varnava said the project will be scaled back without loosing the needed amenities.

“Since this is a 24-hour neighborhood, we want the building to capitalize on the urban grid,” she said.

A green roof  made of environmentally-friendly building materials will be added to the plans to increase efficiency and sustainability.

The new building will also increase the school’s enrollment to 1,200 students.  Since the new facility will be paid partly with taxpayer financing, a neighborhood component will be introduced at the South Loop high school.

Jones College Prep is a selective enrollment school where prospective students have to pass an entrance exam to meet the school’s academic criteria.

Three hundred students would be drawn from the neighborhood.  The district boundaries would be redrawn to accommodate this enrollment addition.

Jones’s local school council passed a resolution on June 8 in support of the school’s acclaimed academic program,  and a cap of 300 for the plan’s neighborhood component.

“If we have to include a neighborhood component, we don’t want to lose the distinctive, rigorous academic program we have,” said local school council member Tom Kubiak.

Jones’s principal, Dr. Joseph Powers, remains hopeful about the proposed neighborhood component.

“We may need to broaden [the curriculum] somewhat, but I don’t see any drastic changes,” Powers said.

Some community members worry that the introduction of a neighborhood element would hurt Jones’ current high-standing and affect its selective enrollment policies.

One community member proposed at the local school council meeting in June that  Jones keep its existing building and utilize both the old and new facilities.

“We can accommodate more students and go beyond a 1,200 capacity,” said Enrique Perez.

Perez’s is concerned the 300 neighborhood cap will not meet then future needs of the South Loop’s high school age population.

The campus is increasing student enrollment – next year’s projection is 825, Powers said.  The current campus can hold between  700 and 850 students.

After finishing his first year as principal, Powers reflected on what he saw as the school’s greatest needs.  He put a library and a gym at the top of that list.  In addition, Powers would like to see a pool, auditorium, two music classrooms, and science labs.  All are part of the plans for the new facility, Varnava said.

CPS planning and development teams will have a presentation ready by September, she said.

If everything goes as planned, Jones’ incoming freshman could see a new building by their senior year in the fall of 2012.

The new building will be constructed on vacant lots behind the school’s current location at 606 S. State St. and expand southward along South State to East Polk Steet  The existing building which is appraised at $20 million will be sold.