Archives for June 2020

By Patrick Butler

The Chicago City Council recently approved a plan to resurrect the historic, long vacant Ramova Theater as part of a $22.9 million entertainment and dining complex. Developer One Revival Chicago LLC is planning a theater, restaurant, and brewpub in three buildings on the 3500 block of South Halsted Street.

During a recent City Council meeting, Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the approval “an exciting step forward for the Bridgeport community and the entire cultural life of our city.” The Ramova Theater once again will become “the beating heart of Bridgeport as it helps fuel the local economy and write a new chapter of the history of the South Side,” she noted.

The developers expect the project to take several months.

The 90-year-old historic buildings “will receive $6.64 million in tax increment financing to be provided on the project’s completion,” said Ald. Patrick Thompson (11th), who has worked to revive the Ramova for several years. The theatre closed to the public in April 1985 when it showed its last movie, Police Academy 2.

The City bought the Ramova building in 2001 for $285,000 and is turning over the property and the adjacent lot (valued at $765,000) to developer One Revival Chicago LLC at a cost of $1, Thompson said. The developer, in turn, will repay $100,000 in interest to the City over the first three years, with the City forgiving the principal and remaining interest after ten years, provided One Revival meets all annual compliance requirements.

The project also will include a new 5,000 square foot brewery and 4,000 square foot restaurant in an adjoining building, creating 80 permanent and about 111 temporary construction jobs, Thompson said.

Kevin Hickey, founder of the Duck Inn, a local eatery at 2701 N. Eleanor St. will lead the restaurant turnaround.

The 91-year-old single-screen theater, designed by then-prominent architect Meyer O. Nathan, features a Spanish revival style and resembles a starlit courtyard. The Ramova opened with a showing of The Desert Song and in 1940 hosted the Chicago premiere of Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator,an unflattering satire of Adolf Hitler; some historians believe movie executives may have been screened the film in the Ramova’s neighborhood location instead of downtown because the controversial leader still had American supporters in Chicago in the months before the United States’ entry into World War II.

Thompson noted that, during his last visit to the Ramova in the late 1970s, he saw Grease.

Those leading neighborhood efforts to save the local landmark include Maureen Sullivan, whose Save the Ramova organization started an online petition drive, and Ald. James Balcer, Thompson’s predecessor. Preservation Chicago also joined the battle.

Drag racing problems

In other local news, drag racing and rumbles have become enough of a concern in usually quiet Bridgeport that police are stepping up focus on areas such as Racine Avenue between 35th and 39th Streets and Morgan between 35th and 37th, according to Thompson.

“It’s an issue that’s getting special attention from the police, and not for the first time,” Thompson added, noting the City considered a traffic study last year to see if such areas need traffic lights, but nothing has happened yet. The City also installed cameras along Racine between 37th and 38th Streets and deployed additional officers to the area at night, he said.

Thompson added the neighborhood became particularly noisy when a number of revelers may have been celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Polish Constitution Day into the wee hours.

Officials in other neighborhoods also are seeing more reports of increased drag racing. A North Side resident said he witnessed drag racing in the area around Wright City College several evenings in early May.

For Thompson, log on to www.ward11.org or call (773) 254-6677. To inform police about drag racing, call (312) 747-8227.

By Bonnie Jean Adams

Immigrants and their families are vital to Illinois, and they face increased challenges during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

One in seven Illinois residents is an immigrant, while one in eight is a native-born U.S. citizen with at least one immigrant parent, according to the American Immigration Council. More than a quarter million U.S. citizens in Illinois live with at least one family member who is undocumented. More than 20% of all business owners in the Chicago metropolitan area are immigrants. 

A 2020 report by the Center for Migration Studieseffectively documented immigrants’ contributions to the U.S. labor force and economy. In Illinois, 19.2% of the foreign born work in what the report described as “essential critical infrastructure” jobs, defined as being so vital to the U.S. that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, the national economy, national public health, or safety. Many immigrants’ jobs are on the front line during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Jessica L. Boland, director of behavioral health services at Esperanza Health Centers and a licensed clinical social worker,explained that “Immigrant families are significantly impacted. Many of them work in jobs that do not care for their employees’ health needs, such as in factories, and as they are desperate for income to support their families, most do not have the privilege of staying at home, or else risk not paying the bills or having food to put on the table. 

“Far too often, we hear that our patients are at work, even while waiting for the results of their COVID-19 test—and with a 53% positive test rate, that means exposure risks continue to stay sky high,” Boland noted. “Sadly, these families do not qualify for Federal stimulus checks, and there are very limited resources available among the social service organizations trying to help.”

Essential services

“I am aware, particularly in times like these, of how much we rely on our immigrant community to provide essential services and how much they are underappreciated,” said Peter Zigterman, director of family services at World Relief Chicago, an organization that helps immigrants navigate paperwork and provides food and rental assistance. “Only when we begin to realize how important those jobs in agriculture, industry, manufacturing, and health care are to our own survival do we begin to realize immigrants’ contribution. On a policy level, on a personal level, this needs to change.” 

Despite making up less than a third of Chicago’s population, Latinos now account for 42% of all positive coronavirus cases in the city. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said her administration is focused on curbing the virus’s spread in neighborhoods recording the biggest spikes such as Little Village and other communities with large Latino populations. Community health centers such as Esperanza, which are open to everyone (including undocumented immigrants), are crucial to this goal. 

Boland noted, “The City is increasing its testing capacity—along with other health centers on the South and Southwest Sides—which means we are getting a better scope of the virus’s spread. At the onset of the pandemic, we were one of the only non-hospitals offering testing. We have been able to ramp up those efforts and are now testing 150-plus patients per day, seven days per week. We need to continue testing as much as possible and need large-scale community outreach and education efforts—especially among the businesses in these communities.” 

Lightfoot said she intends to work with local agencies trusted within the community. Boland agreed about this effort’s importance. “There is a sense of distrust and confusion around what seeking care means, or does not mean,” she said. “For example, we hear from some families that they do not want to get tested for fear of having a positive result reported to the government. Others do not want to risk getting care for fear of jeopardizing their legal immigration chances, due to the public charge rules handed down earlier from the current Federal administration.” Immigrants whom the Federal government deems may become a “public charge” may be denied visas or citizenship. 

“Many are quite reluctant or outright refuse going to the hospital for treatment when they are seriously ill, as they believe that the hospital equals a death sentence, and no one wants to die alone, away from their family,” Boland added.

‘Always in fear’

Immigration attorney Susan Fortino-Brown confirmed that “The undocumented are always in fear. Many have family-based businesses and fear ICE [Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids. They fear for the health and safety of their loved ones currently in detention. With undocumented clients, there is no ability to get a green card. Undocumented immigrants cannot apply for a green card within U.S. borders. But if they leave the U.S. to return to their country, and apply at a U.S. consulate, they could be ineligible to return. Sometimes, the only chance to get a green card is to return to their home country and then apply, but it all takes time.”

“Everything that the City provides is available to all residents, regardless of immigration status,” stated Lightfoot at a recent town hall meeting. For those without transportation, without English language skills, and fearful of applying for aid because of how it could affect their status and their stay, however, professionals working with the immigrant community feel these words provide insufficient comfort and still no broadly implemented, workable solutions—which makes local efforts and solutions critical. 

“All we have is community,” said Elizeth, who requested her last name not be used. A resident of Little Village, she talked about Increase the Peace, a community organization of young leaders, who began a GoFundMe campaign for the Covid-19 Relief Fund for Street Vendors. The fund already has reached nearly the halfway point toward its $65,000 goal.

A Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient currently attending Dominican University, Elizeth said she realized she was fortunate but knows so many in her community who are not. Her mother is a street vendor who has a regular corner where she goes every day to sell homemade tamales. “People in the community help by buying, and we help by feeding them,” Elizeth said. “What is sad is when people we’ve known for years stop coming because of being sick or dying of the virus.”

From the age of ten, Arias, who also requested her last name not be used, remembered going out every day, walking the streets with her mom to sell homemade cakes and traditional breads. Also a DACA recipient, Arias is in her second year at Georgetown University but does not know if she will be able to return. With the stimulus check she received, Arias was able to buy food for her family of five and pay the rent. She does not know what will happen now and noted she might have to quit school and get a job. 

“You can just see the pain in my parents’ eyes,” she said. “There’s no type of assistance. They’re just trying to keep a roof over our heads—trying to make a living.” 

Workers without jobs must rely on savings, their families, or private charity to survive. Job loss affects not only individuals and their families but communities.  

“I believe that the universe and a higher source is giving us a chance to think about how we want to rebuild our world and our community,” Elizeth said. “This is a time to look within, to see what our values are, and to help each other to be better. We’re all living in uncertainty. Unfortunately, we’re used to it.”

“Federal relief has done little to nothing to help undocumented families in this country who are struggling to keep food on the table and to keep their families sheltered and healthy during this pandemic,” said Marie Newman, who won the Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional district in March. “The disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on black and brown communities is stark in Illinois. In Chicago, 25% of COVID-19 deaths have occurred in the Latinx community and statewide 40% of all deaths have occurred in the black community. These stats underline the inequalities that have long existed in our healthcare system. As we emerge from this crisis, we must advocate for a universal system of care that we can trust will provide the highest quality of care possible to every single person in this country.”

The Unsheltered Chicago Coalition/COVID Rapid Response Team is working on ways to prevent or mitigate coronavirus outbreaks in shelters. The coalition includes such local health providers as Cook County Health, Heartland Alliance, Lawndale Christian Health Center, Rush University Medical Center, Salvation Army, and University of Illinois Health.

UI Health and Mile Square Health Center have opened evaluation and testing sites in South and West Side clinics to serve communities that have been hit hard by the pandemic. In Pilsen, the UI Health Pilsen Family Health Center Lower West, located at 1713 S. Ashland Ave., has been converted in to a COVID-19 evaluation and testing center. In South Shore and the Illinois Medical District, Mile Square clinics have also launched testing sites. At its main clinic, located at 1220 S Wood St., the testing is a drive-up site, so that people do not need to leave their cars for a test. In its South Shore clinic, located at 7037 S. Stony Island Ave., testing is open to all community members. All testing sites are by appointment only, to limit crowds and promote social distancing.

For the American Immigration Council, log on to www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org or call (202) 507-7500. For the Fortino-Brown law firm, log on to sfortinolaw.net or call (312) 341-9009. For the GoFundMe campaign for street vendors go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/covid19-relief-for-street-vendors. For the Center for Migration Studies, see www.cmsny.org or call (212) 337-3080. For Esperanza Health Centers, log on to www.esperanzachicago.org or call (773) 584-6200. Call UI Health at (866) 600-CARE. For the Unsheltered Chicago Coalition, go to https://twitter.com/CovidRRTChicago. For World Relief Chicago, visit www.worldrelief.org or call (773) 583-9191.

By Andrew Adams

Over the past few months, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) has announced several organizational reforms ranging from command staff changes to restructuring, reassigning, and “regionalizing” more than 1,000 detectives, according to the department. These reforms include new leadership in two local police districts. 

Commander Jake Alderden now leads the 1st (Central) District, and Commander Joshua Wallace heads the 2nd (Wentworth) District. Both started their new positions in mid-February. 

Michael Pigott previously led the 1st District; he won promotion to commander/executive officer of Area 3. Wallace takes over from Dion Boyd, who stepped up to commander/executive officer of Area 1. 

The 1st District holds the Loop, South Loop, and Near South communities. It is bounded by the Chicago River on the north, 31st Street on the south, the lake on the east, and I-90 (the Kennedy Expressway) for almost its entire western border. The 2nd District covers Bronzeville, Douglas, and Hyde Park. It is bounded by 31st Street on the north, 60th and 61st Streets on the south, the lake on the east, and I-90/1-94 (the Dan Ryan Expressway) on the west.

Meet the new commanders

Alderden has served with CPD since 2001, working as a tactical lieutenant and field lieutenant in the 1st District and a watch operations lieutenant in the 2nd District. He said these experiences will give him insight into his new role. “Having been able to have the background, you’re able to understand everyone’s role,” Alderden said.

Alderden has lived in the 1st District for many years. “It’s helped me to live down here to really understand,” he said. “I call this home.” Alderden has a bachelor’s degree in business from Calvin University. 

He was among the officers who responded to a mass shooting at Mercy Hospital in November 2018, which ended with four deaths, including one police officer. He and two other officers received honors from the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation to recognize their bravery in the situation. 

The 2nd District’s Wallace has worked with CPD since 1999, and he began working in policing 28 years ago in another locale. Wallace started with CPD as a patrolman. “It took me 12 years to become a supervisor,” he said. He has worked in the 6th District, Narcotics Division, and Summer Mobile Patrol Unit, a special unit deployed in summers to address seasonal changes in crime patterns. 

Wallace lives in the 2nd District. He has a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement management from Calumet College and is a graduate of the Northwestern School of Police Staff and Command. 

According to the Invisible Institute’s Citizen’s Police Data Project database, Wallace has received 28 honorable mentions or awards, more than 80% of officers. Alderden has received 76 honors or awards, more than 93% of officers.

District plans moving forward 

The unique responsibilities of policing the 1st District include overseeing the city’s busy center. Alderden said two of his primary focuses are public safety surrounding large events and what he called “quality of life issues,” which includes “people loitering, drinking in the public way, and public urination.” 

Public events in the 1st District have gone down dramatically due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Alderden said the reduction “started with St. Patrick’s Day, and we haven’t had anything since.” Officials canceled the usual tradition of dyeing the Chicago River green and holding a large parade downtown. Nevertheless, Alderden and the 1st District officers continue preparing for large events later this year. “We’re working to make sure all the festivals” organizers and the City do not cancel “are safe,” he said.

The 2nd District also is preparing for summer, a busy time for Chicago police officers, according to Wallace. “When you take over a position like this, you want to hit the ground running,” he said, noting his overarching goal for the coming months is crime reduction. “You should be able to walk these streets without worry,” he said. 

Policing in the age of coronavirus 

Generally, a district commander oversees operations and officers within the district’s geographic area. Wallace describes the job as highly administrative, saying, “normally, we attend a lot of meetings…a lot of reading reports and addressing concerns.” Wallace added that recent responsibilities have “changed to more protecting the community with regards to the pandemic, protecting our officers with regards to the pandemic.” 

The evolving coronavirus pandemic has changed how police departments across the country operate. Wallace noted a shift he has seen. “I think it’s more educational,” he said. In the 2nd District, officers are “conducting daily checkpoints” to educate residents about the pandemic and relevant State and City orders, including the stay-at-home order. “It’s all about flattening the curve,” Wallace said. 

Alderden said he places “emphasis on officer safety.” In both districts, the CPD has issued officers personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves. According to Wallace, equipment includes N95 masks. Alderden’s experience has been surreal. “No one, at least in my circle, knew what an N95 was,” he noted. “I never would have ever believed it would be like this.” Police and cleaning personnel regularly decontaminate common surfaces such as light switches, radios, and patrol cars.

Wallace added he is focusing on trying to understand what will come after the pandemic, asking himself, “What is policing going to look like? Honestly, it’s hard to tell. You want to say, we’ll go back to business as usual, but I don’t know. We have to protect the community.” 

The 1st District police station is at 1718 S. State St. Call (312) 745-4290 The 2nd District police station is at 5101 S. Wentworth Ave. Call (312) 747-8366.