Name the location of this terracotta "ram." Also, we posted a clue to our previous "Where Am I Located." Check it out and make a guess. Looks like we may have stumped our Uptown architecture experts.

Uptown Square, as seen from Borders Book Store today.

We came across the "Chicago Landscape" blog from a link on another Uptown blog, "Great Expectations." Robert Pullman, who runs "Chicago Landscape," has some great pics of Uptown and the surrounding areas. We love to see great photographs that really show off the beauty of our neighborhood's architecture and people. We added a link on the right for his blog. Well done, Robert.

Should Uptown residents be "TIFed off" as well? We think so.

According to "Ainslie" over at the BPN message board, Jim Higgins, owner of "Club Lucky" has applied for a zoning change and permit to open in the basement of the Uptown Broadway building currently being renovated at Broadway and Leland. No word if the bar/restaurant would be a second "Club Lucky" location but if it is, it looks like we are all in for a treat judging from the menu and photos on the website. Fingers crossed.

Gee, our "Currency Exchange Peddler" appears to be moving up in the world. A reader sent in pics of his latest hi-jinks near the corner of Broadway and Wilson, and this time he has a large white moving van to transport his "goods" around in. The reader spotted a used microwave oven, a used BBQ grill, a used plastic Christmas angel lawn ornament, VHS tapes, crock pots, kids toys, and other household items. Do the police turn a blind eye to this in Uptown?

Seen today outside the Wilson El entrance on Wilson.

Seen today on Broadway near Leland. We think this year's Christmas decorations look even better than last year's.

By LORRAINE SWANSON
Pioneer Press News-Star

It was Alderman Mary Ann Smith's turn to give her annual state of the 48th Ward's side of Uptown address at a business luncheon hosted by Uptown United and the Chamber for Uptown Business Partners on Nov. 20.
Addressing a business audience that turned out on a rainy, misty afternoon at Crew Restaurant at 4804 N. Broadway, Smith spoke on a variety of topics ranging from mass transit renovations to development north of Lawrence Avenue.
"We've met with major investors and developers, and how they feel about coming and making proposals to invest in Uptown," Smith said. "We feel such confidence in this community, and some (applicants) aren't very familiar with this community, but we feel very fortunate to have them."
Smith told the audience that the two words that keep coming in conversations with investors are "urban authenticity."
"People love being in places like Lawrence and Broadway," Smith said. "The second is 'resilience.' It means we're not dependent on one business for our ongoing survival."
Smith said that CTA L stations between Lawrence and Granville are in line for some much-needed refurbishing, including painting and new lighting between now and April 2008.
"The L stations are receiving significant investment from the CTA. These are not monies from the state, but new monies captured internally from the reorganization of the CTA," Smith said. "If any community understands public transportation (Uptown) does."
A push is also in the works to open a new Metra train station in Edgewater near Peterson and Ravenswood Avenues. Smith acknowledged 14th District State Rep. Harry Osterman's efforts to get state funding for a local Metra station that would relieve the 60,000 cars that travel through Edgewater each day on their way to Lake Shore Drive.
"(A new Metra station) will serve the entertainment and restaurant community extremely well," Smith said.
More public art projects are also being planned for the underpasses leading to Lake Shore Drive at Lawrence and Foster Avenues, similar to the bricolage mural in the Bryn Mawr underpass that has won rave reviews from residents and visitors to the Edgewater neighborhood.
Planning and installation of a new mural will begin after bridge repairs to the Lawrence Avenue underpass are finished.
"We'll be calling on the community to help design what the Lawrence Avenue project will say," Smith said. "As we enter our neighborhood it is a very small statement of who we are. The bricolage (mural at Bryn Mawr) reflected the history of Edgewater, Lawrence Avenue (will be) very much about who Uptown is and its history."
Smith also announced that the Urban Land Institute's professional planning and research services have been contracted to plan business growth along Argyle Street. The organization helped in the re-planning of Lawrence and Broadway's entertainment district, which is listed in the National Historic Register.
"(The Urban Land Institute) has met with local people and have walked Argyle Street many times," Smith said.
For the next several months, Smith continued, the institute will organize teams to talk to community residents and make proposals.
"We'll be coming up with direction for how to help Argyle Street meet its potential," Smith said. "The last number I heard is $90 million generated by businesses on Argyle. I see much great market space connected to Argyle. The bottom-up plan to renovate (Argyle) is in motion right now."
Smith also mentioned a proposal to bring highly sophisticated educational programming to McCutcheon Elementary School where 45 percent of the students are homeless.
"We have a very challenging situation and also have a school that could and should be doing more in the community," Smith said.
"The building at McCutcheon is only half filled. We're looking to bring extraordinary kinds of competitive education that will serve both the dependent (student) population and also the broad community."
In response to an audience member's question regarding commercial property-tax relief to the 48th Ward's many independently-owned businesses, Smith answered that an attitude adjustment is needed in Springfield.
"Until our governor or a governor decides to deal with the situation with a small income tax increase or a small statewide initiative, we're stuck with coming up with a solution from a grass-roots level," Smith said.

Do you ever walk around the 46th Ward and wonder why there are so many taxis parked on the street? Wonder why you never notice that in other neighborhoods? Well our ward, along with one other ward, is the only ward in the city that allows taxi drivers to park their taxis on the street. Uptown has become a haven for taxi cab drivers and if you are a resident who happens to have a car, you surely have had trouble finding a spot to park. Check out the "City of Chicago" permit application site here.

We came across a very cool website featuring architecture, streets, signs and other things lost to time in Chicago. "Forgotten Chicago" is a must for anyone who is a Chicago history buff. Uptown is even featured in two sections we came across. "McCutcheon Terrace" is listed as one of the shortest streets in Uptown. The building at Broadway and Winona is listed as a "tied house" which was a saloon that served only a specific breweries' beer. Also be sure to check out the "Odds & Ends" section and then "Disused Turnarounds." Broadway and Montrose is featured as well as the old "Look Out For Buses" signs STILL attached to the blightpoles. We will add a link on the right or you can out "Forgotten Chicago" here.

Folks, Uptown residents know that there is plenty going on in our neighborhood and sometimes (most of the time) the news media needs a kick in the pants to take notice. So we are going to add some handy links for residents to use to contact the news media when something is going on in Uptown that deserves media attention. Let's start with the pitch black sidewalk on Broadway that is a would-be rapist's or mugger's dream. Go on, call and fire off your emails!

...and never came back on. As promised, here is the pic courtesy of James Cappleman, taken around 6pm facing south on Broadway from Ace-Hardware at Leland. This is truly pathetic folks, and once again we encourage our readers to call the Alderman's office and 311 with requests for lighting to be replaced/added to this area. Is it going to take someone getting killed, raped, or mugged in this unlit and seedy area for our local officials to take notice?

We are continually amazed at how much neglect anything CTA related receives once the tracks enter the 46th Ward. Case in point, this bridge, mainly used by purple line trains, at Leland and Broadway. All we have to say is that we hope we are not anywhere near this crumbling eyesore when it decides to drop off a chunk of concrete on an unsuspecting bystander or car below, or worse yet, collapse. And while we are on it, we have called 311 several times to report the fact that there is STILL no lighting under the tracks by Ace-Hardware at night. We encourage our readers to flood 311 and the Alderman's office with requests for the lighting to be fixed under these tracks. We are giving criminals an easy way to conduct business anywhere near this spot.

By Lorraine Swanson
Pioneer Press News-Star

Alderman Helen Shiller had lots to say about the 46th Ward's side of Uptown at a business luncheon hosted by Uptown United on Nov. 8.
Shiller, who voted yes to approving all key elements of the city's $5.9 billion spending plan, including an $86 million property tax hike at last week's City Council meeting, kicked off the luncheon by talking about the 2008 budget.
Asking the business audience gathered at The Spot at 4437 N. Broadway, what they would like to see cut from the budget, an audience member stated "corruption."
"Other than that response that doesn't have a response to it, it's an important one so I'm actually glad that you said it," Shiller said.
Shiller explained that the costs related to corruption stemming from political hiring and inappropriate police activity, plus the three new city departments created to deal with corruption, drove up expenses in the city's 2008 budget.
"I confess the really messy importance of the responsibility that (the City Council) had for this budget," Shiller said. "What we have in front of us and what we have presented, in addition to the things that people want and nobody has told me what else concretely, because I agree that we want to get rid of corruption, but that means you have to create ways to do it."
Shiller said that more than 70 percent of the city's budget is tied up in salaries and entitlements, leaving little else for city services.
"(The city) has a rule that we're not eliminating vacancies in the police, fire and (Office of Emergency Communications) even though some think those could be rearranged and organized," Shiller said. "We're not in a position to start cutting those because there is a very strong point of view that people want to have the best public safety possible."
She cautioned that the budget shortfall opened the door to other types of fees and taxes.
"It is a popular feeling that property taxes are onerous for a good reason," the alderman explained. "But the other fees in many ways are more expensive if you were to prorate them out on a monthly basis, but they're more hidden and people don't feel as strongly about them."
Included in the city's 2008 budget, Shiller said, are 20 to 30 traffic light cameras to catch cars that speed through intersections.
"I don't know where they're going, but there's now going to be a $100 fine instead of a $90 fine," Shiller said. "I would strongly recommend to everybody in this room because part of the reason (the city) is doing this actually is to create safer streets, and if we create safer streets we'll save money. So I feel fine telling you don't get the fine, just don't go through a yellow light."
Asked about the Wilson Avenue CTA Station, Shiller acknowledged that while the station was never part of the Wilson Yard TIF redevelopment plan, TIF money is being set aside "informally" if the CTA doesn't have the capital dollars to pay for the station.
"We can at least leverage TIF dollars for federal monies that the CTA can no longer leverage because the state has been requiring that it pay off that money every year, and unless (the debt) is restructured, it's not going to change," Shiller said.
The audience also quizzed Shiller about Wilson Yard and when community residents can expect to see the next phase of construction to begin now that the new Aldi's has been built.
"The last thing I was told, which was very recently, was that ground will be broken by the end of this year," Shiller said. "Contrary to rumor there has been no change. Everything I said, I said a zillion times, and I'm not going to say it a zillion times again."
Shiller said that the next phase of construction planned for Wilson Yard is a "parking tub" which will serve as a foundation for the development's parking structure.
"I'm hesitant to give any more details because as you know they obviously changed a lot over the years," Shiller said. "The details of the project haven't changed but the timing is a little elusive as you know, but there is constant progress."

For those of you craving flame-grilled chicken, you'll have to wait till winter 2008 (presumably January or February 2008) according to "El Pollo Loco's" website.
Walking by the site today at Sheridan and Wilson, we noticed workers have completely gutted the interior and are working on stuccoing the exterior.
"Chicago Business" has an article about "El Pollo Loco's" expansion. Read all about it here.

Seen today at Broadway and Sunnyside.

Pioneer Press News-Star
By PATRICK BUTLER Staff Writer
Mayor Richard Daley's 2008 budget was approved 40-10 during nearly four hours of City Council deliberations Nov. 13, but a separate vote to increase the city's property tax levy by $85.4 million - the highest rate increase since Daley took office - passed by only eight votes during the meeting.
Alderman Tom Tunney, 44th, one of the council members who voted for both the budget and the property tax hike, attributed the unusual show of independence to the fact that a number of freshmen aldermen were elected earlier this year with the understanding they would more actively represent the interests of their constituents and that there would be "more scrutiny of the city budget and city services."
Daley himself speculated later that at least some aldermen who supported the budget weighed in against the property tax hike knowing the package would pass anyway so they could at least say they voted against raising homeowners' real estate taxes.
"It's just politics," he said.
A number of aldermen including Ariel Reboyras, 30th, who argued "this isn't about a tax increase but an investment in our libraries" and Helen Shiller, 46th, said the increases were unavoidable if Chicago is to remain a world-class city.
Voting for the budget but not the property tax increase was Alderman Vi Daley, 43rd, while Alderman Brendan Reilly, 42nd, voted against both the budget and the tax hike, explaining he did not believe the City Council had done all it could to identify additional savings to balance the budget.
He added, however, that he looks forward to working with Mayor Daley to get legislative leaders in Springfield to find a permanent source of funding for public schools that would allow "meaningful property tax relief."
Also voting against both the budget and the property tax hike was Alderman Joe Moore, 49th, who pointed to the dozens of tax, fine and fee hikes at the same time voters have grown fed up with the costs of corruption that get passed on to taxpayers. He added that cities like Chicago wouldn't have to dig so deeply into the public's pockets if the state and federal governments were doing their parts..
Alderman Dick Mell, 33rd, also spoke against the budget, but ultimately voted for it once he was satisfied there were "some things like a library that our community would get."

Has anyone noticed film crews near Broadway and Wilson at night? We spotted some trucks being unloaded yesterday afternoon near the beautiful white building that is currently "FOR RENT," just a bit north of "Family Dollar." There were about 20 tables set up inside the building. We also spotted 5 or 6 people wearing black "Security" jackets standing near the El tracks and up and down Broadway. Inquiring minds want to know. Maybe its the same movie (with Shia LaBeouf) that was filming last Sunday on the Sheridan El platform.

Update: Thanks to "IrishPirate" we now know what was going on last night at Broadway and Wilson. We hope Shia and Billy Bob enjoyed Uptown. Read on at "Hollywood Chicago."

As you know, earlier this week the City Council voted on a number of measures related to the City’s budget for 2008. I was grateful to hear from some of you throughout the budget process, and I’d like to take this opportunity to respond to the questions and concerns raised by residents and stakeholders in the 46th Ward as well as throughout the city.

As usual, prior to the vote, the City Council Committee on Budget & Government Operations held two weeks of hearings during which aldermen had the opportunity to ask questions of the City’s budget director and department heads. I continued to get emails, letters and calls from you throughout those hearings. The ideas, questions and concerns expressed by you were of considerable help to me throughout the budget process. As your representative, I wanted to be sure that I truly understood the budget package I would be voting on. I asked questions on your behalf and was able to make an informed and careful decision when it came time to vote.
Continue reading

'Startling': Chicago TIFs collect $500 mil.
BUDGET DRAIN? Tax districts too secret, critic says
BY STEVE PATTERSON Staff Reporter spatterson@suntimes.com
Chicago Sun-Times

From the Chicago Magazine:

A reader writes in:

Seen recently in the Garfield Park area of Chicago. Looks similar to our own open-air market at Broadway and Wilson in front of the currency exchange.

A reader writes in:

A reader sent in the following photo of a resident who appeared to have fallen out of his wheelchair but later declined ambulance service as he was "just sleeping."

This chap was recently seen napping outside the golf store at Leland and Sheridan.

We wonder what these violations could be? A reader sent in info regarding license violations at "hotels" in the 46th Ward. Any ideas? Click the addresses below for more info.

By Mickey Ciokajlo
Tribune staff reporter

Brushing off a rare show of opposition, Mayor Richard Daley won easy City Council approval Tuesday of a spending and tax plan that will tap into the wallets of just about everyone who lives, works or plays in Chicago.The package, which takes effect Jan. 1, includes the biggest property tax hike of Daley's 18-year tenure as well as higher taxes on beer, wine and liquor, a new 5-cent tax on bottled water and increased water and sewer fees.The most controversial item was the $86 million property tax increase, which passed on a vote of 29-21.

Here is more info on a new development at 4860-4872 N. Clark, known as "Clark 36." The building will be 4 stories with 30 units and is just a bit north of the "Rainbo Village" development. For more info check out the "Jameson Realty" website here.

Tuesday, November 20 (RSVP by Friday, November 16)

Seen today at the Wilson Avenue entrance of the long neglected Wilson El station.

From Kate Hawley at YoChicago:

Truman College photography graduate Sangeet Gupta recently showcased her work featuring bathrooms around the world at Truman on October 5. One of her photos is featured above. We wonder if she found inspiration standing in the entryways of the vacant storefronts of the Wilson El station and breathing deeply...or maybe from hanging out behind "Dunkin' Donuts" on Wilson near the "urine dumpster?" The world may never know. Interesting, nonetheless.

The building on the corner of Lawrence and Clark (with the shoe store) has been under going some changes lately. We spotted workers power washing the exterior and now a new business has opened up on the Lawrence side (at 1509 Lawrence). "Villa May Pizza" opened recently and although we haven't had a chance to check it out, a new restaurant in the area is always good. For orders and deliveries call 773-878-0882. We also noticed that two storefronts on each side of "Villa May" are under construction as well. Wonder what they could be?

Where, oh where could the promised artwork from the Arai students be? These new posters were recently installed in several of the "display cases" and appear to be made specifically for the cases judging from the "Uptown community" reference. Maybe the artwork will be displayed in the "art-filled atrium" residents reported hearing about during the construction of Aldi from the Alderman's office. We doubt it. Might we also suggest Uptown United place the remaining banners, that show up as black blobs at night, on the light poles they were intended for and not in these cases.

For those of you with a hankerin' for good Ethiopian food, "Demera Ethiopian Restaurant," located on the corner of Broadway and Lawrence, should be opening within the next few days. We have learned that the restaurant has received the necessary licenses and is waiting on city certificates. Judging by what we can see from the street, they have updated the interior and it looks pretty good.

Continue reading about the incident on Halloween at Broadway and Wilson here:

This time, the "Vis Vitae" development at Clark and Leland was their target. Tags can be seen in the photo above, but more tags were seen on the inside walls of the building. Between this and the "Watercolor Residences" on Kenmore (which is covered in tags on its backside facing the El tracks), our neighborhood taggers have been quite busy lately.

There will be a CAPS meeting at Truman College tonight at 7pm in the side room off of the cafeteria. We encourage everyone to attend this meeting and let your voices be heard regarding recent shootings and other crimes in Uptown. Further questions can be directed to capsbeat2311@yahoo.com

Thursday, November 8 (RSVP by Tuesday, November 6) 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

We came across this 46th Ward map on the "Uptown Neighborhood Council" website and noticed something humorous. Both "Graceland" and "St. Boniface" cemeteries are listed as voting precincts. This map is a great resource to save and share with other Uptown residents who are not sure what ward or voting precinct they live in. We wonder how many voters hail from the 27th and 2nd precinct.

Golly, it seems some folks in Uptown cannot wait for the low-income portion of the Wilson Yard project to come to fruition. Today, passing the site on the El, we spotted 3 African-American gentlemen who were knocking over the construction fence on Montrose and running into the site. They may have been trying to stake their claim in the upcoming towers, who knows. We apologize for the blurry pic but we think you can make out what we are talking about. The police were notified of the trespassing shenanigans.

Forgive us for being excited by this new business on Broadway. We are not quite sure why this architectural firm chose this location, but its a welcome sight and we are definitely thankful for the addition. Check out MDT's website here.

Update: Thanks to the research of "Hugh" we now know this interesting tidbit:
This building is technically owned by 4619 BROADWAY LLC and held in a trust at Bridgeview Bank, trust number 98116.4619. BROADWAY LLC is the limited liability company the Uptown Community Development Corp AKA Uptown United set up to conceal this real estate asset. Some may recall it is the former location of a used music store. Uptown United has owned this building since 1998 and has operated this building at a loss on its books ever since.

Seen today near Sheridan and Wilson. We could not see any discernible signs of progress. We noticed that the local taggers have added their signature to one of the vacant areas on the left.
Update: Apparently it is not legal for a tax-exempt organization such as "Jesus People USA" to display political posters like the ones that are clearly visible in the second floor windows. We encourage our readers to contact the local IRS office at 312-566-4912. There is also a number for the "Taxpayer Advocate Service" which is 312-566-3800 if the first number listed is not helpful. Be sure to let us know what you hear from them.

Seen today at Sheridan and Wilson.

Spotted today on Wilson at Beacon. "Express Chicken & Ribs" will be opening soon. We have about 8 more empty storefronts to fill on Wilson from this location to Broadway. We are one less vacant storefront closer to Wilson becoming a bustling "retail corridor." Ribs, anyone?