1st Ward Report

Text 9
Notes A response to Cathy and Huckabee

Dan Cathy decided to make a PUBLIC statement to Mike Huckabee that, at the least, muddied the progress we had made with Chick-fil-A and, at the worst, contradicted the documents and promises Chick-fil-A made to me and the community earlier this month. Since Mr.Cathy made a PUBLIC statement, I am PUBLICLY asking him to confirm and support what I was told and shown by his company representatives.

1. For the FIRST TIME in the company’s history the company wrote and distributed a document to all of its employees titled, “Chick-fil-A: Who We Are” that guarantees that the company and its employees will “treat every person with honor, dignity and respect- regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.”

2. I am asking him to PUBLICLY confirm and support a letter that was voluntarily given to me by his company executives earlier this year that states the future behavior of Chick-fil-A’s not for profit arm, The WinShape Foundation. The letter states that, “The WinShape Foundation is now taking a much closer look at the organizations it considers helping, and in that process will remain true to its stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas.” We were told that these organizations included groups that politically work against the rights of gay and lesbian people.

3. I am also asking him to PUBLICLY confirm and support what Chick-fil-A executives voluntarily told and confirmed to me earlier this month— that Chick-fil-A, and its not for profit arm WinShape, in 2012 has not and will not donate to entities with political agendas, including organizations that politically work against the rights of gay and lesbian people.

Mr Cathy continues to not confirm to the press what his company executives have told and showed me. This is disturbing. Since Mr. Cathy wants to confuse people, he needs to publicly confirm the three components described above, which allowed us to move forward. I am simply asking Mr. Cathy to confirm statements and documents that HIS company exectuives provided to me. It is pretty simple, Mr. Cathy. Do you acknowledge and support the policies that your exectuives outlined to me in writing or do you not? Yes or no? If not, Chick Fil A is a business that practices irresponsible, and potentially illegal, business standards.

Perhaps Mr. Cathy felt that he could make these public statements to Mike Huckabee because I had provided a letter of support for his restaurant to the City of Chicago earlier this week. I provided this letter based on the progress we had made with Chick-fil-A. I still need to introduce legislation to make the Chick-fil-A in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago a reality. I will wait to see what Mr. Cathy’s next PUBLIC statement is, and reflect on that statement before moving forward with appropriate legislation.

Text 13th Police District — Community Alert

Bureau of Detectives – Area Central

Community Alert

Armed Robberies

013th District (Wood)

About the Crime:

This alert gives notice to residents of the 013th District (Wood) of robbery-related incidents that have occurred. In each of these incidents, the offender approached the victims, took their property by force and then shot the victims before fleeing the scene. Incident times and locations are listed below:

1000 Block of N. Damen Ave. on September 14, 2012 at approximately 1:25am

2100 Block of W. Thomas St. on September 14, 2012 at approximately 1:30am

About the Offenders:

Offender descriptions vary, but are generally described as:

Male black, age 20-35, 5’07-6’00, 150-180lbs, wearing dark clothing

What you can do:

• Always be aware of your surroundings

• Report suspicious activity immediately

• If you are confronted by an assailant remain calm

• Remember any unique physical characteristics (scars, limp, acne, teeth,

etc…)

• Never pursue a fleeing assailant, provide the information to the police

• If approached by a witness to the incident, request contact information

• Dial 9-1-1 immediately and remain on scene when possible

If you have any information regarding this incident,

Contact the Bureau of Detectives – Area Central

(312) 747-8380

Photo 1
Notes

We go to grid garbage collection on Monday. The new pick-up days are detailed in this map. They’ll also post a note on your cans.

Text Grid Garbage Collection — Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How will grid refuse collection work?

A1: Currently, refuse services are ward-based, meaning routes are designed around the ward boundaries, and personnel and vehicles are assigned to specific wards.

The grid system will change collection operations from non-linear ward geography to a grid system comprised of main streets and natural boundaries. The grid model will concentrate sanitation workers in targeted areas of the city each day and create balanced service regions with standard numbers of collection crews to improve daily collection performance.

Q2: What are the benefits?

A2: A grid strategy, used universally by municipalities and private haulers, will allow crews to use the most efficient routes possible, reducing lost time and enabling Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation crews to service more households with fewer resources.

Q3: How will the implementation of grid garbage collection impact me?

A3: It is our priority to minimize any impact on residents resulting from the implementation of the grid garbage system. All residents will continue to receive weekly refuse collection services, though some may see a change in their day of service. Service maps, indicating service days, can be found on the City’s website www.cityofchicago.org/dss, by contacting 311, or the local ward office.

Q4: How will this affect my recycling service?

A4: If your household receives curbside blue cart collection, your recycling day will also change to the same day as your refuse collection, though your week of service will remain the same. If your household receives alley blue cart recycling services, your week of service will remain the same, but the day may change. Please leave your blue cart in the alley during your entire collection week to ensure collection.

Q5: When will grid garbage begin in my area?

A5: The third phase of grid garbage implementation will begin the week of September 17, 2012 will take place in wards 1, 26, 27, 32, 35, 42, 43 and 44 as well as small portions of wards 2, 33, and 47.

Q6: My street is not on the map, but my ward is included in the third phase of grid garbage. Is the map wrong?

A6: No, if your street does not fall within the boundaries of the map, your household will not be included in this roll out, and your collection services will remain the same for the time being. Future roll outs will be announced in the coming weeks.

Q7: Will I receive a notification informing me of my new day of service?

A7: Yes, the Department of Streets and Sanitation will post a notice on top of each household’s garbage cart the week before the roll out to inform residents of their new day of service.

Text 1
Notes CTA Decrowding Initiative

Below is information that my office received from CTA about its plans for Decrowding:

· The CTA is updating its bus and rail service to improve efficiency, reduce bus and rail crowding, and meet increasing ridership demand by focusing on improving overcrowded routes and providing more service to underserved areas

· The changes to several bus routes and rail lines will increase service at high-demand times and discontinue thinly used routes that are inefficient and costly to the overall CTA system by reallocating resources to match demand. These changes will ease overcrowding and improve reliability and on-time performance at no additional cost.

· It makes good fiscal sense to redeploy CTA resources to best meet rising passenger demand at no additional cost to anyone, especially in tight economic times. CTA ridership has risen for 16 straight months and between June 2011 and June 2012 posted its biggest increase in four years. We need to meet that growing demand in a cost-effective manner and we can do so by re-investing cost savings back into the system providing additional service in areas of the city with increasing demand for service

· This route restructuring, based on comprehensive review of the entire transit system, was long overdue: It’s the first system-wide, holistic review of CTA’s bus and rail service that has been undertaken in 15 years.

· CTA worked with the Northwestern University Transportation Center, a nationally recognized education and research institution, to review the CTA’s restructuring plan. The Center’s analysis confirmed the conclusions that were reached by the CTA.

· If approved by the CTA Board, the service changes will go into effect December 16, 2012.

Bus service overview

· Improving routes, including the busiest and most crowded bus and rail routes in the city, by adding service during peak times on congested routes and extending other routes

· Increasing service on 40 routes

· Discontinuing 14 duplicative and low-ridership routes, including four routes that have duplicative Pace service.

· An additional 13 routes will have service frequency or span of service reduced.

· Owl service or a portion of owl service on three routes will be discontinued because of low ridership.

· In nearly every case where service is proposed for discontinuation, there is duplicate CTA bus or rail service, or overlapping bus service by Pace.

· Of the bus network’s 140 routes, 14 – 10 percent — will be discontinued including four routes that have overlapping service with Pace. .

· Renegotiate or discontinue 11 contracted bus routes that CTA subsidizes.

Rail service overview

· During weekday peak travel times, 17 rail trips will be added to six lines, mostly on the Blue, Red and Brown lines, the CTA’s busiest train routes.

· During weekday off-peak times, the frequency of the Red, Brown and Orange lines will increase by as much as 2 ½ minutes between trains.

· Weekend service frequency will also increase substantially on the Red, Brown and Blue lines, the CTA’s busiest rail lines.

The CTA’s Decrowding Initiative Enhances Service to our Customers

· The proposed recommendations represent the better allocation of resources to match demand and address crowding on bus and rail services, in a cost-neutral manner.

· Route changes are across the network, not just concentrated in certain areas.

· Through the rail and bus route updates, $15.9 million of savings annually can be achieved. Every penny of that goes back into rail and bus frequency improvements for high-demand routes.

· Rail service is enhanced with additional trips during peak weekday times and increased frequency and extended hours at other times.

How it was done

· In 2011, CTA engaged the services of the Northwestern University Transportation Center, a nationally recognized research and education center. The Center analyzed CTA’s plan, using CTA data on ridership numbers, ridership patterns and route configurations, as well as the availability of other transit options.

· The Center’s analysis confirmed the conclusions that were reached by the CTA.

By the numbers

$15.9 million The amount of savings from the Decrowding Initiative that will be re-invested into the CTA bus and rail network

Bus

40 The number of bus routes that will have frequency increased

14 The number of bus routes that will be discontinued

4 Of the discontinued routes, four routes are covered by Pace

13 The number of bus routes that will have bus frequency or span of service [hours of operation] reduced

Rail

17 The number of rail trips that will be added to six train lines, mostly on the Blue, Red and Brown lines, the CTA’s busiest train routes – 10 morning peak trips and 7 evening peak trips

7 ½ The number of minutes between Brown Line trains weekday off-peak and on Saturdays from current frequency of every 10 minutes

8 ½ The frequency between Orange Line trains weekday off-peak from current frequency of 10 minutes

5-7 ½ The number of minutes between Red Line and Blue Line trains on Saturdays under the Decrowding Initiative, from current Saturday frequency of 7 ½ to 10 minutes

Photo 1
Notes

HELP “Chicago Welcomes Home The Heroes” in its effort to hold a parade in honor of post-9/11 veterans.

They have a tentative permit date of December 15th (at noon) on Columbus Drive between Balbo and Monroe, and now their main focus is raising enough money to actually fund the event.Please help this GREAT cause:

www.chicagowelcomeshometheheroes.org

HELP “Chicago Welcomes Home The Heroes” in its effort to hold a parade in honor of post-9/11 veterans.
They have a tentative permit date of December 15th (at noon) on Columbus Drive between Balbo and Monroe, and now their main focus is raising enough money to actually fund the event.

Please help this GREAT cause:
- www.chicagowelcomeshometheheroes.org

Photo 1
Notes

Property Tax Appeal Workshop — TONIGHT

Text Beneful Competition: Logan square Dog Park

Calling all Logan Square dog owners.

We have a fantastic opportunity to build the dog park of our dreams in the dog friendly area located between Western Blvd and Artesian Street. But, we can’t do it without you.

Beneful®, the maker of premium dog food and snacks is sponsoring 2012 Beneful® Dream Dog Park Contest. The winner will receive a $500,000 Dream Dog Park make over!

Write a 250 word or less essay that answers the question: “if you had $500,000 to create a Dream Dog Park where you and your best buddy can play together, what would you do?”

Please see www.beneful.com for the official rules and guidelines.

Entries must be received by 11:59:59 am ET on August 22, 2012.

The deadline is only days away! Get your creative juices flowing and show your community support by entering the contest today!

Also, feel free to reach out to LoganSquareDogPark@gmail.com