Fighting noisy businesses in the West Loop

05/11/2011

Friends and I recently celebrated the signs of spring at one of West Madison Street’s outdoor patios. It had me recalling a CAPS meeting four years ago where the dominating topic was motorcycle noise on that very corner. I attended the meeting back then to talk about the drug use and the drug dealing I saw while on my daily constitutional. I came away with a "we'll look into it" about the drugs, and a wealth of information about noise pollution.
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Gathering and gossiping in South Loop squares

04/27/2011

How come you didn’t mention any public squares that are in Chicago?” I asked author and architect Robert Gatje when he lectured about his book Great Public Squares at the Chicago Architecture Foundation recently.
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Dreams for a new Chicago

04/20/2011

This cold Chicago spring is giving birth to more than hardy flowers and greener grass. Rahm Emanuel is not the only person plotting a rebirth for the city. New aldermen from Ameya Pawar (47th) to Will Burns (4th) have transition teams planning to bring about a better city council, local democracies in their wards, and environmental improvements.
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Tapping the keg of craft beer politics

04/13/2011

Like many resourceful college students, my brother Terry once tried to brew his own craft beer. Anticipation built while watching the container slowly expand with what we imagined to be yeasty goodness. Any number of friends had to be stopped from prematurely tapping it; quality beer takes tremendous patience. When the time finally came, the brew was tapped, and it was not good — at all.
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How can anyone sleep in the South Loop?

03/30/2011

The last few weeks, I have been reading a book about sleep by a local and renowned author and professor, Dr. Rosalind Cartwright. The Twenty-Four Hour Mind — The Role of Sleep and Dreaming in Our Emotional Lives (Oxford University Press) has proved to me once and for all the importance of getting eight hours of solid sleep each and every night.
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The last of the Daley years

03/23/2011

For the past four years, Mayor Richard M. Daley has had nearly complete control over the city council. But his power has waxed and waned. When the city council was first elected in 2007, dissent arose again but died down by 2009.
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Morfin a choice for change

One View

03/23/2011

The people of the 25th Ward have a choice to make on April 5 — a choice between politics as usual and politics of principle; a choice between backroom deals and engagement with the community; a choice between a well-financed politician willing to take money from questionable sources and a reformer who has devoted himself to community organizing; a choice between the political machine of the past and a movement looking toward the future; a choice between Danny Solis and Cuahutémoc “Temoc” Morfin.
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Solis not good for 25th Ward

One View

03/16/2011

Editor’s note: Chicago Journal is reprinting this letter from last week because in the process of editing it for length, the meaning of a sentence by the author about “the concept of progressive” was inadvertently changed.
So many fallacies, where to begin. It is clear you have either not done your homework, or must be new to the city of Chicago. Education is clearly a priority for you so let me begin by addressing this issue.
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Businesses keep coming back

02/23/2011

We’re weeks away from spring and Easter and thoughts of resurrection. But after making a few observations in the South Loop recently, all I can think about is the resurrection — of our retail landscape.
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Pilsen residents need change

One View

02/16/2011

The residents of Pilsen face many challenges. Many residents are undocumented immigrants. The majority of residents are working class and many are low-wage workers who have been hit hard by the current economic crisis. Their health has been adversely effected by pollution from the Fisk coal fired power plant on Cermak.
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