Saturday, January 26, 2008

Maryville Academy 'On The Market'

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

12 comments:

  1. "Repeated calls to 46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller were not returned in regards to this issue and the sale of the property."

    Shocking.

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  2. That is excellent if a good developer buys it and builds something nice there.

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  3. In most wards, residents have input, especially if it's a planned development. Ald. Shiller is not returning phone calls about inquiries of possible zoning changes, which hints that she will do what she normally does . . . ignore the input of the local residents.

    Have you noticed that the 46th Ward Zoning Committee folded (again) after the election? If she repeats her past behavior, it will resurface again 6 months before the next aldermanic election. She will then tell the press that she has a process in place to hear from the residents and that the bad apples who are speaking up are complaining that they just didn't get their way. The art of spin is catching up, however.

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  4. To be fair, the previous incarnation of the 46th Ward Zoning Committee was in place for about 2 years before the last election. This, of course, does NOT excuse the veil of secrecy under which they were managed.

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  5. Thanks, Hal. Given that at that time Ald. Shiller was not sending out any communication via newsletters or e-mails to Ward residents until 5 months before the election, I wasn't aware there was a Zoning Committee until much later. I do remember Ald. Shiller refusing to even divulge who were members of this committee, and no official minutes were ever provided on the Ward's website.

    I knew some people who were on this committee and they expressed frustration about last minute cancellations of the meetings, meetings held during the week day, and the lack of decision-making authority as is allowed in other wards.

    Does anyone know when the Zoning Committee finally stopped meeting? One member told me it just slowly faded away and there was no formal end to it.

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  6. After reading the article "How Cash, Clout Transform Chicago Neighborhoods" in today's Chicago Tribune and viewing the accompanying photos, I'm unconvinced, as regards zoning issues, that Shiller is at all extraordinary among Chicago aldermen.

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  7. She's second only to Joe Moore in the number of zoning changes issued. And we've all seen her D-2s, which tell the story of the many, many developers who contributed to her campaign funding.

    So much for the "reformer" and "rebel" and "maverick" tags.

    The truth isn't always pretty or neat, is it?

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  8. There is no way anything belongs on that lot on the North East Corner of Montrose and Clarendon. It is the only lot the Park District does not own. It should buy the 750 building and tear it down to add more park space. There's no way a highrise, low rise, or social service agency belongs in that park.

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  9. Let's not forget the lying Maryville nuns.

    Remember they insisted in a news article this past summer that the property was not up for sale. But then, they and Father Smythe always lied about the DCFS kids getting raped inside the facility too so are we that surprised?

    And how about those "cocaine babies" that somehow rise up from their cribs and commit all those assaults and batteries that still show up on the crime stats for that property?

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  10. She came into office on a land give-away scandal so why are we surprised?

    Just like with Wilson Yards, she and Daley teamed up to give away Uptown Land to outside interests. At that time, they decided to give the CUBS Challenger Park for 200 CUBS parking spaces in exchange for CUBS funded improvements and CTA improvements.

    We're still waiting for that CUBS funded ice rink, fountain, and maintenance. And looking up to the CTA tracks I don't see any protective drip pans.

    They got theirs. We got squat. Thanks Helen and Rich.

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