Well folks, another deadline for Wilson Yard has come and gone. Remember back in December when WY developer Peter Holsten stated construction would begin on Target and the housing in January? We got a pic of the site today, albeit a wet looking pic, and as you can see, nothing is going on there as far as we can see. Nothing groundbreaking that's for sure.
We encourage you to give the Alderman's offce a call at 773-878-4646 and ask why another deadline has not been met on this fiasco. Also, you should fire off an email to Sun-Times columnist David Roeder, who wrote the above mentioned Sun-Times article at droeder@suntimes.com and let him know there has been no groundbreaking at Wilson Yard.

By Lorraine Swanson/Pioneer Press News-Star

When Cy Oldham opened her restaurant, Fat Cat, at 4840 N. Broadway in the burgeoning Uptown Entertainment District, she expected to hit a single or a triple, but not a home run.

"I was looking to build and grow with the community as people moved into the area," Oldham said. "I thought I was taking a gamble. We became a destination and neighborhood place instantaneously because there wasn't much up here."

Serving American Contemporary cuisine, Oldham said that business has been phenomenal. Recruiting chef Sean Pharr, formerly of Tru, said Uptown residents are crazy for the corn dog appetizers, featuring bite-sized Vienna, Polish and spicy devil dog sausages, with three different types of sausages including "Spicy Chicago" that blends everything you can fit on a Chicago dog.

"It's one of our most inventive and creative dishes, served on a custom-made tray with a lollipop tree," Oldham said.

Since Fat Cat's opening in July, the restaurant and bar's Halloween and New Year's Eve events have been sell-outs.

"We get all ages. It's phenomenal. People are table hopping in here and everybody knows each other," Oldham said. "We just started swing dancing lessons and live acoustic guitar during the week and a DJ on the weekends."

Formerly from the Detroit-area, Oldham started out her Chicago days working a waitress, bartender and barback. She made the leap to restaurant owner and operator with her first restaurant, Silver Cloud, at 1700 N. Damen Ave. in Bucktown, whose motto is, "Food like mom would make if she was getting paid."

Oldham is continuing the theme of "comfort food" at the 4,400-square-foot, Art Deco-bedecked Fat Cat that recalls the era of 1920s and 1930s, when Uptown was swinging.

Fat Cat's prices are reasonable, with the most expensive entree priced at $12.95. The most popular entree is a Pork Belly Sammy at $9.95, featuring pork marinated in dark rum, Cuban spices and bananas, then slow-cooked for a minimum of 24 hours.

"Everything we do here is very labor intensive," Oldham said, adding that Fat Cat also hand-cuts about 100 pounds of potatoes per day for its own french fries.

Fat Cat will host a Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras bash from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., featuring all-you-can-eat buffet for $9.95 per person that includes a Crawfish Boil, Oyster Po' Boys, Jambalaya and Mardi Gras King Cage. Special Abita Beers will also be served. Partial proceeds will benefit Brad Pitt's "Make It Right" Foundation for the rebuilding of post-Katrina New Orleans. (Sorry, ladies, Brad won't be putting in an appearance.)

For more information, call (773) 506-3100.
photo by Mia Aigotti

By Eddie Baeb
Chicago Real Estate Daily
(Crain’s) — A little-known developer has partnered with the owner of the Aragon Ballroom and struck a deal with a small movie theater company for his proposed residential and retail development across the street from the legendary concert hall.

James Gouskos, owner of Lawrence Properties LLC, joined with Aragon owner Luis Rossi to buy a vacant site at 1063 W. Lawrence Ave. for a building that would house a nine- or 10-screen movie theater, a 500-car parking garage and 85,000 square feet of retail space. Messrs. Gouskos and Rossi paid $4.6 million for the property earlier this month.

Rendering by Perkins Pryde Kennedy + Steevensz Architects Ltd. of the Theater District Lofts, a proposed condo tower in Uptown.

Mr. Gouskos, who lives nearby and has worked on the project for several years, has a letter of intent with Meadow Theatre Group LLC. The Florida-based firm is run by a father and two sons and has one six-screen theater in Keene, N.H. The father, Phil Meadow, operated a 42-theater chain in New England in the late 1970s through the 1980s, according to his son Joshua.

Mr. Gouskos also is still working on plans for a 21-story condominium tower at 4738-50 N. Winthrop Ave., just south of the proposed retail/parking building. The condo tower would have 131 condominiums, four levels of parking and a swimming pool.

“This neighborhood is on a good track,” Mr. Gouskos says.

The residential tower would cost $35 million and the retail/parking building $20 million, says Mr. Gouskos, who is seeking tax-increment financing funds for the retail/parking building. He says he’s close to getting the necessary city approvals to build, and that he hopes to break ground in three to four months.

Mr. Gouskos has tapped Glenview-based Kudan Group to market the retail space. Kudan principal Jeremy Kudan says he’s targeting grocery stores, health clubs and restaurants.
The location should be good for a movie theater, says Barry Schain, a broker and principal with Chicago-based Next Realty LLC who specializes in movie deals. The challenges will come from the difficulty and cost of putting theaters in a multi-story building and providing free or low-cost parking to moviegoers, says Mr. Schain, who is not involved in the project.

“I love that area for a theater,” he says. “I just question the economics and the parking.”

In 2006, Kerasotes ShowPlace Theatres LLC dropped its plan for a 12-screen movie theater as part of the nearby Wilson Yard project, in part because of the high cost of building the necessary multi-level parking garage.

Update: YoChicago has picked up on this story. Check it out here and join the discussion.

Update: There will be a "Labor Ready" hearing tonight, January 31, at 6:30pm at the "McCormick Boys and Girls Club" at Sheridan and Gunnison. Spread the word!

Uptown residents are fighting mad over the proposed "day labor" office at Sheridan and Gunnison to be run by "Labor Ready." A website has even been created to inform residents of the issue. Check it out here (www.stoplaborready.org)
"Uptown Chicago Commisson" and even "Uptown United" have all sent letters to Alderman Helen Shiller to share their disapproval of this plan. You can read the letters sent to the Alderman from both "UCC" and "Uptown United" below. Residents are still encouraged to voice their opinions on the "Labor Ready" proposal to the alderman's office at 773-878-4646.

January 29, 2008

It's been a while since the community meeting for the "Theater District Lofts Phase II and III was held this past August. Residents were presented with the plans for the construction of a high-rise and nearby parking complex that will feature a movie theatre (to be run by "Meadow Theatre Group"), retail, and restaurants at Lawrence and Winthrop. We wondered what the status of this project was and are happy to report it is moving right along. The parking lot across from the Aragon has been purchased although the closing for this property took a bit longer than expected. Developer Jim Gouskos is moving forward on the projects and is confident that the neighborhood will benefit from this complex. The 21 story highrise has a new look that we think looks pretty sharp. We are working on getting updated renderings of the parking complex/theatre and will post them as soon as they become available.

Update: We added another view of the building (top) from the vantage point of Winthrop looking back towards Lawrence (the El tracks are to the left of the building). Judging from the 2 photos here, there are also 2 variations of the facade on the parking level of the building. Also, the building is evidently 21 stories and not 20 as originally thought.

By Carrie Topolinski
Chi-Town Daily News

Police are looking for a man who attacked a woman with a bottle early Saturday morning in the 1300 block of West Winnemac Avenue.

The 24-year-old victim was walking to her car from the Argyle El station around 2:30 a.m. when an unidentified man came up from behind her and started hitting her in the head with a glass bottle, police said.

The attacker ran off as the woman began struggling and screaming, police said.

The victim was taken to Swedish Covenant Hospital, where she was treated for a laceration to her forehead and a broken finger.

Police have no suspects.

By Robert Becker and Dan Mihalopoulos
Tribune reporters

Chicago aldermen wield near-absolute power over development in their wards, but most insist they get neighborhood input from community groups or handpicked advisory panels before approving or rejecting projects.

What they don't say is that those groups often are stacked with real estate agents, developers and campaign donors with vested interests in the zoning decisions made by the aldermen.

One alderman backed zoning changes that let a developer tear down several modest homes on the Near West Side and replace them with three-story condos, projects that were OKd by a community group.
Continue Reading:

A reader writes in:
"This junk truck is often parked in the 46^th Ward on Lawrence in front of the Rest Homeless Shelter and loaded with grocery carts and bikes. On this day, it’s cargo was 44^th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney’s "Ann Sather" sign. The junk peddler lives many blocks north in Mary Ann Smith’s 48^th Ward, which does not allow any residential street pickup parking. At that time, the driver could not qualify for a 46^th Ward residential B parking permit because he had a commercial use junk truck, did not live in the 46^th Ward, and had many outstanding traffic violations. Perhaps Tunney could invite his friend to the 44^th Ward and fix things for him."

Get used to this common site in Uptown. We think you'll be seeing overloaded trucks in Uptown even more now that City Clerk Miguel del Valle eliminated the $30 special parking permit fee for parking trucks in Chicago. Residents with "junk trucks" will simply go to the Alderman's office to pick up their free permit. For clarification, truck owners must still display Chicago city stickers. We also heard rumor of Alderman Tunney proposing an amendment to allow "B-Plate" trucks in his ward starting in May. There seems to be more than enough "junk trucks" in our ward to share with his.

We think that outlets for communication in our ward are still lacking a bit. Because of this, we created the "Uptown Update Forum." A feature that makes this forum unique is the "chat" feature which allows you to chat in real-time with your neighbors. This is, of course, a test to see if our community needs another outlet for discussion. If there is something lacking that you would like to see, let us know. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful.

By Norman Parish Chicago Sun-Times

The 33-year-old cabdriver suspected of shooting his parents apparently attempted to fake suicide as part of an attempt to throw off authorities, according to new federal documents.

Artur Shehu also admitted killing his parents, according to the affidavit filed Friday in U.S. District Court.

Continue Reading

We were sad to see the trademark of the "Eagle" removed from its exterior, that being the long semitrailer that patrons had to walk through before entering the bar. We also noticed that the garish sign that displayed advertisements on the side of "Man's Country" has been removed. It sure was not installed for long. Perhaps residents complained of the brightness. Also, the site of "Clarks on Clark" is still vacant. We had heard that a new bar would re-open. Does anyone have info on that?

Courtesy of "Inside Online"
Click image to read. We apologize for the small typeface.

The "Chicago Tribune" ran an interesting article today highlighting how Chicago aldermen have taken to a "pay to play" system, taking money from developers to beef up their election war chest, in exchange for rezoning. The 46th ward has over 50 zoning changes on file. Check out the article here. Check out the database of zoning changes by ward here.

A reader alerted us to an interesting new site that is currently being tested in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. According to its website, "EveryBlock" was created to be a sort of "news feed" for your neighborhood. You can find crime reports, news, photos, business licenses, restaurant inspections, and business reviews. Definitely worth checking out. Just enter your zipcode to get the latest feed.

"Uptown Update" was selected as one of "Chicago Magazine's" best neighborhood blogs in its February 2008 "Nothing But Net" issue. "Uptown Update" was one of the nine blogs selected that showcase neighborhood news and opinion. We were in good company, with other blogs like "Roger's Park Bench." Now back to some more short "squibs."

We have received emails from residents concerned over the proposed "day labor" office to be located at 4830-34 N. Sheridan (the red arrows mark the location in the "Google Maps" photo above). Folks are concerned because the location of this proposed office is near the "McCormick Boys and Girls Club" and McCutcheon K-8 School. Historically, day labor offices are places where people looking for work gather early in the morning, and if no work is available, they hang around the office until work is available. If you pass by the "Public Storage" facility at 4050 N. Broadway any time of day, you are familiar with loitering. Is this the ideal location for this facility?
Residents concerned with this facility or its location are encouraged to contact Alderman Helen Shiller's office at 773-878-4646.

JOIN THE PARADE! Saturday, February 9, 2008
at Argyle St. and Broadway Ave. 11:30 am
Argyle Street Merchants welcome you to the Year of the Rat, Wu Zhi, 4705. Look for this logo at local businesses to get special offers and discounts.

Courtesy of Medill Reports Chicago
By John Riley

Depending on your perspective, the former Wilson Yard at West Montrose Avenue and North Broadway is either a sign of a promising economic future or an eyesore exemplifying urban blight.

For years the yard, adjacent to the Wilson el stop in Uptown, was used as a repair and storage site by the CTA. It now stands empty and vacant.

With the push for development in Uptown, many wonder how businesses that might consider locating in the Wilson Yard will react to a proposed increase in the real estate transfer tax.

The tax is levied on all industrial and commercial property in Chicago. The fate of the proposed increase will determine which vision of the Wilson Yard becomes reality.

The increase in the tax, which would charge buyers of property $10.50 for every $1,000 of sale price, was approved by the Illinois legislature as a way to subsidize the Chicago Transit Authority’s underfunded pension system. Because the tax applies only to properties within the city, the city council must approve it.

The current transfer tax, paid by the buyer, is $7.50 per every $1,000 of sale price. Sellers pay the county and state transfer tax of $1.50 for every $1,000. That number would remain unchanged under the proposal.

For years, the Wilson Yard has been a target by developers hoping to gentrify an area that, until recently, had few prosperous businesses. In 2001, the city created a tax increment financing, or TIF, district to help spur economic development. The CTA sold the Wilson Yard property to the city, which has plans to locate a Target or similar “big box” store.

But approving the 40 percent increase in the transfer tax would inhibit economic growth, said Brian Bernardoni, director of government affairs for the Chicago Association of Realtors. Bernardoni said the tax discourages businesses from moving into areas because they must pay it on top of any down payment.

Bernardoni also rejects the rationale for the increase. Instead of going toward operating costs or improved infrastructure, the transfer tax simply puts money into CTA’s pension fund.

“Trying to save the CTA’s pension plan hardly equates to doomsday,” Bernardoni said, referring to the prospect waved by transit officials of drastic cuts in service if the General Assembly didn’t increase the agency’s funding.

The alderman representing the 46th Ward, in which the Wilson Yard is located, is Helen Shiller. Shiller’s office did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The area north of the Wilson Yard now contains an Aldi supermarket, retail shops, ethnic restaurants, and a Dunkin Donuts. Some Uptown residents, including Victor Foley, say the success of these businesses are harbingers of a coming economic boom for the Uptown area.

“Obviously, I wish it were something else,” Foley said. “But I think [Target] will be good for the area. Anything will help.”

Foley cited the increase in condominiums south of Montrose Avenue and a noticeable increase in foot traffic as signs of development.

But David Rodriguez, another Uptown resident, said he avoids the area around the Wilson Yard. Rodriguez said the area is unappealing to him, pointing to the bar, liquor store, tattoo parlor and two methadone clinics across the street.

“A Target would probably help this place a lot more, because there’s not a lot to do here,” he said. “There’s not really any specific reason to be in this area other than if you live here.”

Rodriguez said he thinks Shiller should vote against the increase in the transfer tax.

“That would discourage businesses from coming,” he said. “You’re paying hundreds of thousands, and then you’ve got this extra amount. Why would anybody want to take a chance here?”

Courtesy of the "Pioneer Press Police Blotter"

23rd District:
• An 89-year-old man was beaten by another octogenarian during an argument in a nursing home on the 500 block of West Wellington Avenue 11:30 a.m. Friday, Jan 11, police said. Police said the 84-year-old assailant punched the victim numerous times, leaving the victim with a swollen eye and a bloody nose.

The victim was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was said to be in good condition. The attacker was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital for psychiatric observation, police said. Police said the attacker had transferred to the nursing home earlier that same day from the St. Joseph Hospital psychiatric unit, police said.

• A 28-year-old man was arrested for attacking a police officer on the 4100 block of North Sheridan shortly after 5:20 a.m. Jan. 12, police said.

Police said the suspect was yelling and throwing lawn furniture at other residents of a building on the 4100 block of North Sheridan when the officer asked him what he was doing. The offender lunged at the officer, who subdued the offender who later admitted being on prescription drugs. Asked why he tried to attack the police officer, the offender said "that's the way I roll."

Police declined to release the name of the suspect, who was charged with aggravated battery.

• Burglars got $2,000 from the Socca Restaurant, 3301 N. Clark, sometime between 6 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Jan. 12, police said. Officers found a basement door forced open and the safe empty.

The Sun-Times News Group announced that the News-Star, along with Skyline and The Booster (of Rogers Park) would cease publication as of January 30, 2008. Many readers of this blog also read the weekly News-Star, which covers news and events in the Uptown and Ravenswood neighborhood. The News-Star often covered Uptown news that the mainstream media failed to cover. Reporter Lorraine Swanson was a common sight at many community meetings and asked tough questions to elected officials.

Read more about the end of the publication here, courtesy of Crain's Chicago Business.

Update: According to this article, The Skyline, Booster, and News-Star have been purchased by "Wednesday Journal." Apparently the three papers will be merged with two editions of the "Chicago Journal."

Looks like we will soon have a new dining option at 1122 W. Wilson. Workers were seen gutting the interior of this building today. A layer of the awning has even been removed to reveal old hair braiding salon signage from years past. No word on what type of cuisine is planned for this spot but we will keep you posted.

Word is coming in of activity this morning around the "Uptown Theatre" at Broadway and Lawrence. Firetrucks were seen on Broadway and also behind the theatre on Magnolia. No word if this is due to an actual fire. If anyone has info, please add it in the comments. Let's hope it is nothing serious.

Seen today at the Wilson Yard site.

It's tax time in Uptown. You know it's that time when you see this colorful balloon atop the world famous Broadway-Wilson Currency Exchange and folks dressed up as the "Statue of Liberty" stand in front of "Popeyes" passing out tax service flyers. What's the charge to get a check cashed there anyway? Seeing this beautiful balloon made us think of this song, courtesy of "The Fifth Dimension."

If you hurry, and bring a ladder, you can get yourself a long, black colored weave in the tree near the corner of Beacon and Wilson. Hurry before someone else snatches it up!

Depends on your definition of groundbreaking. Two trucks were seen driving around the Wilson Yard lot today. Stand back. 10 days left in January.

We have walked by this building at 4453 N. Broadway and often wondered what it was. The sign used to read "C.T.C.C." but it has been since ripped from the building and has been hanging for quite some time now. We came across this site and discovered, among other things, its a methadone clinic. It's great to know that in the span of two blocks on Broadway, we have two methadone clinics... although we aren't sure if this one offers free breakfast. Might we also point this business and countless others in Uptown to this website, offering grants to businesses to repair their signage and buildings.

We spotted this chap out braving the cold and near Broadway and Sunnyside. He was checking out the future site of the "Graeme Stewart Park" and using the fencing as support as he stumbled around. We are also happy to report that the other "forgive" vandalism has been removed from the building near Broadway and Leland. Only this one remains.

Better late than never.

First, a big thank you to all of the folks who check out "Uptown Update" on a regular basis. Judging by these charts showing the last week of 2007 and the first 3 weeks of 2008, our readership has been great and steadily improving. This past week we had 5,484 page loads (or visitors) and of those 3,493 were definitely unique, meaning they weren't returning visitors. That's huge folks. The previous week was even higher. Thanks for giving us the chance to highlight news and issues in our ward that may not be highlighted otherwise. Your comments and photos are still welcome and appreciated. We hope we can continue to keep you updated.

Wow, folks. In case you missed it, the folks over at "24/7 North of Howard Watchers" reported on this largely overlooked gem in a post yesterday. Our Chicago aldermen now are pulling in a cool $104,101 a year, but that's not even the best part. They also approved automatic cost-of-living increases till the end of time. Not bad for a job you apparently never have to show up to work for. The "Howard Watchers" suggest congratulating your alderman if you see them. We could not agree more.

Forgive. How profound is that? Graffiti in this spot has come a long way from this summer when the message was this. Seen today on Broadway between Leland and Wilson.

A reader alerted us to construction activity at 4631 N. Beacon near Wilson. According to the construction permit, a 3 story, six unit addition will be added to the existing affordable 9 unit residential building (on the right in this photo). The owner is "Fred Woods Homes, Inc" and the phone number listed linked to "Chicago House." The lot under construction, between the two buildings in the picture, was formerly a playground for the existing red brick building in the picture.

Parking under L tracks at night can be intimidating enough, but judging from the amount of lights either burnt out or in disrepair in the parking lot under the tracks between the McJunkin building and Truman College, you might want to avoid it. We wonder if the Alderman has taken notice of this since she parks here. Probably not. Just like the burnt out lights under the tracks by the Wilson station that remained that way for an estimated 5 years, it may take someone getting raped, mugged or murdered for those responsible to take notice. That brings us to our next question...is the CTA responsible for lighting this lot even though Aldi customers, folks from Truman, and McJunkin building employees park here?
Either way, it needs to be a priority to get this fixed ASAP. Calling 311 couldn't hurt.

Update: We realize it is hard to imagine how dark this lot is unless you see photos taken at night. Luckily, we received some photos taken by a reader who said, "Here are 2 photos I took on Nov. 24th of the back of Aldi's parking lot, facing Truman College. They were taken at around 6:30pm. You won't be able to see much.... it was too dark. Anyway, can you imagine anyone feeling safe to park their car at Aldi's when they do shopping in the early evening?"
See how many burnt out lights you can spot in the pics. The third pic still illustrates the broken condition of many of the lights. This one is complete with hanging wires.

From the 46th Ward website:
Recently, two ordinances have come before the City Council, one having to do with chickens and the other to do with pigeons.

Chickens

An ordinance proposing the ban of chickens in residential buildings has been introduced and was sent back to the Health Committee for hearings. Keeping a chicken (roosters are already banned) is a common practice among many households that use the chicken as a source of fresh eggs. Ald. Shiller does not support the ordinance as it is currently written. She believes that problems arising from the housing of chickens in residential buildings (e.g., sanitary issues) can be addressed through existing laws and do not require new legislation. If you would like to be notified of any public hearings on this topic, contact the Committee on Health at 312.744.3066.

Pigeons

Pigeons are another story. Ald. Shiller is the co-sponsor of an ordinance that would ban the feeding of pigeons on the public way because it is unhealthy. Pigeon droppings attract rats and contribute to the spread of disease. Furthermore, bird experts agree that the feeding of any wild birds by people should be discouraged because it is unhealthy for the birds. The ordinance was referred to the License Committee where it was deferred on January 8, 2008. If you would like to be notified of any public hearings on this topic, contact the Committee on License and Consumer Protection at 312.744.3180 and ask to be put on their notification list.

Even though the official deadline was January 15, those of you who would still like to purchase an Uptown banner MAY still be able to do so at the discounted rate of $300 each for non-chamber members. Call Bill at the Uptown Business Partners office at 773-878-1184 to inquire.

Passing by the Wilson Yard site this afternoon, we noticed no activity whatsoever. No equipment or workers were seen at the site today. The month is half over and it would be a shame if the development experienced another delay. According to the December 5 Sun-Times, Mr. Holsten stated that both the Target and low-income housing would break ground in January. We will keep our eye on the site to see if it comes to be.

A reader sent in this photo of the "Wilson Club Hotel" as seen from the Wilson L platform today. It appears a resident has hung an Aldi bag out of their window, why we do not know.

Read the article and comment at "YoChicago."

Click image to enlarge for more info.
Courtesy: To register for the event, visit Chicago Foundation For Women

Courtesy: Chicago Tribune
By Jason Meisner - Tribune Staff

Three Chicago police officers were hospitalized with minor smoke-inhalation injuries after a fire Tuesday at a North Side community center and shelter for the homeless.

The blaze broke out about 9:30 p.m. in the basement of the five-story building housing Cornerstone Community Outreach, in the 4600 block of North Clifton Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood, authorities said. Several police officers were assisting people inside when the stairwells began to fill with smoke and they were overcome.

Two officers were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and one was taken to Weiss Memorial Hospital, according to Police Officer Amina Greer. All three officers work in the Town Hall District and are expected to recover.

Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the fire appeared to have started in mattresses and pallets that were on the basement floor. There was a lot of heavy smoke but not much fire, and the flames were extinguished with one hose, he said.

There were about 110 people inside the shelter at the time, Langford said. He said the evacuation was very orderly and no rescues were necessary.

"The alarms went off, people streamed out," Langford said. "Some of them are waiting at another shelter across the street."

He said they were expected to be let back in once crews had ventilated the building and cleaned up the scene. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

One of Uptown's cultural gems, the Pegasus Players, with a permanent home at Truman College, is currently running the 22nd Annual Playwrights Festival. The show features shows written by Chicago Public School students and produced by Pegasus, allowing high school students the chance to see their plays on a stage. Read more about the festival here.

For more information about Pegasus Players, please see their website here.

Early voting began yesterday at Truman College on Wilson. You have until January 31 to early vote for the February 5 primary. Hours for early voting are 9-5pm and all you need is your government issued photo ID. You can be in and out of the polling place in less than 10 minutes so get out and vote! More info here.

The Chicago Free Press, the weekly gay newspaper, still doesn't recognize that Uptown exists. In the January 9th issue, the area around Broadway and Lawrence was named the "Hottest Area" in their 2007 Golden Spoon Awards, the the word Uptown was nowhere to be found in the article.

"Hottest Area - Who would have thought that the corner of Broadway and Lawrence would be such a hotbed of culinary activity? The hookers and junkies have made way for a number of new cafes. Demera, Ethiopian, 4801 N. Broadway, (773) 334-8787, is still working out the kinks. Meanwhile, Fat Cat, 4840 N. Broadway, (773) 506-3100, and Marigold, 4836 N. Broadway, (773) 293-4653, add comfort food and upscale Indian dining to the mix, respectively. Crew, 4804 N. Broadway, (773) 784-2739, pulls in a good lunch crowd for its great pub fare while neighboring Fiesta Mexicana, 4806 N Broadway, (773) 769-4244, has a strong following for its no-frills south of the border menu."

Read the entire article here.

And here is the email address for the Editor of the Chicago Free Press so you can let him know that Uptown really does exist: news@chicagofreepress.com.

Looking down at the recently demolished building at the corner of Clark and Lawrence. Does anyone know what is planned for that site?

From Chicago Tribune/Theatre Loop
I've written a lot over the years about the Uptown Theatre at 4814 N. Broadway. I stare at it from the "L" on a regular basis. As its many passionate supporters well know, the venue almost has been renovated on a number of occasions; it's been in the sights of everyone from charlatans to poorly funded enthusiasts to civic-minded business folks who've tried to make it happen but became worn down by the size and difficulty of the job.
Its challenges are well known — terrible state of disrepair, a location outside of downtown, parking issues, massive size, and so on. But its assets — most notably an interior that stirs the soul — are just as worthy of attention.
There have been various rumblings of late involving Jam Productions, which has an interest in the facility, and Clear Channel Entertainment, which is itself in a state of flux but reportedly is chatting with the city about the joint. I don't know what's going to happen. But there's probably more reason to feel optimistic about the Uptown than at any other time in years.
You can thank Madison Square Garden Entertainment for that — even though the owner of the Garden and Radio City took a pass on the Uptown. By taking ownership of the Chicago Theatre, MSG has got the local players worried. They now want to shore up their venue-ownership positions by looking again at the Uptown. And believe me, the amount of money needed to fix the Uptown will need deep corporate pockets.
So when you read that the rise of the Loop theater district has no impact on the neighborhoods, ponder the Uptown for a moment. The red-hot Loop may well be its salvation.

Read the entire article and comment here.
photo courtesy: CRCC

Looks like "Borders" is really looking to leave Uptown. The space is currently advertised here as being available for lease. We had heard rumors of this for a while, but were honestly hoping it wasn't true. "Chicago Business" reported Borders' financial woes recently. Check out the article here.

Join the discussion over at The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park regarding John Nocita, 9th district democrat for Congress.

According to today's Chicago Sun-Times, Live Nation, the concert promoter that developed the Charter One Pavillon at Northerly Island, is negotiating with the city to purchase and restore the Uptown Theatre. If successful, this could be the most important event in Uptown in the last two decades. The theatre has been empty since the early 1980's. Read more here.

According to residents who attended last night's Beat 2311 CAPS meeting at Truman College, word is circulating that both the "Wilson Men's Club" and the "Darlington Hotel" have several building code violations such as fire code violations. They apparently have been in violation for a while now and nothing has been done. Someone, or something is protecting them from being shut down or investigated. We encourage our readers to fill out a quick report at the "Chicago Inspector General's" website. The address for the "Wilson Men's Club" is 1124 W. Wilson, and the address for the "Darlington Hotel" is 4700 N. Racine. The photo above is a view of the "Wilson Men's Club" from Clifton. Notice the particle board covered windows that are now exposed and showing insulation (click photo). Since it is also highly possible (tongue in cheek) that there is even more corruption in our ward, we will add the "Chicago Inspector General's" link off on the right for residents to report other concerns.

Update: Since it appears that this could be a bigger issue that the local media needs to take notice of, here is our handy "News Media Contact At Your Fingertips" post from a while back. Click the links listed in that post to contact local news media.

Many of you may remember that a SRO was planned for 1470 W. Carmen and was to be run by Heartland Alliance. According to a reader who has contacted the alderman's office, that deal has allegedly fallen through and the lot is going to be zoned for a possible condo development. No other details at this time.

Hundreds lined Lake Shore Drive yesterday to greet President Bush...although not voluntarily.

President George Bush is visiting Greeley Elementary School on Sheridan, near Broadway, today to recognize the school. Bush and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will tour Greeley to tout "No Child Left Behind." Federal officials tagged the high-performing, high-poverty school with Blue Ribbon status for its high test scores. Approximately 80 percent of Greeley students passed state exams last year, beating city and state averages.

No plans have been announced for his overnight accommodations, but the Hotel Chateau is believed to have some vacancy.

Folks, we had our 100,000th visitor today at "Uptown Update" and we couldn't be more amazed. Who knew this little blog would be a catalyst for a bit of change and maybe even a decent source of news in the 46th Ward? We ask you to continue taking pictures when you are out and about in the neighborhood and keep your ears open for news of things going on in our ward. The more informed we are, the better off we are.

Our poor Uptown Theatre. Just months after having the last round of "graff art" removed from its exterior, a new crop of gang jibberish is tarnishing this landmark. Although a bit hard to see from the picture vantage point, it is visible. Let's hope its removed ASAP. How are these thugs getting up to this SAME spot to do this? We hope that some sort of deterrent is added to stop this in the future.

By Lorraine Swanson - Pioneer Press News-Star

Paloma Reyes was an accounting major at DePaul University when a representative from the Center for Economic Progress visited the campus recruiting volunteers to help low-income families and individuals file their tax returns.
"She did a wonderful job and told us how many people in Chicago don't file their taxes, not because they don't want to, but because they can't afford it," Reyes said. "I thought it sounded exciting and was an opportunity to give back to the community and learn something new."

Continue Reading:

From Jan. 26 through April 15, free tax filing services for low-income families and individuals will be available at these sites:

• Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave., 5:30 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday

• North Side Credit Union, 1011 W. Lawrence Ave., 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday

• Loyola Park Field House, 1230 W. Greenleaf Ave., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday

We expect more from a publication whose home is in the 46th Ward, Sheridan and Broadway to be exact. The "Chicago Free Press" has been falsely identifying Uptown as Andersonville in their GLBT nightspot map section for quite some time now. Many out-of-towners use these maps to find Chicago GLBT clubs and restaurants and are assuming they are in Andersonville, when they are not. Uptown gay locales such as "Crew" and "Big Chicks," are carelessly shown as Andersonville locales. There will surely be an addition to this list when "Wilde Pug," next door to "Crew," opens soon. We find this ironic since "Free Press" endorsed 20 year Uptown Alderman Shiller in the last aldermanic election as a strong supporter of gay rights. We would think that they could take the time to publicize our ward's nightspots in an accurate way and not simply lump them in with Andersonville.
If you would like to contact "Free Press" in regards to this continuing error, you may do so at:
Chicago Free Press
3845 N. Broadway, 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60613
or give them a ring at 773-868-0005

Update: In case you missed it, here is the cover story from the December 10 issue of "Red Eye" entitled "There Goes The Gayborhood" by Kyra Kyles.