LIL'BUDDY'S BLOG - CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS YOU CAN USE!
THE CHICAGO REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!
Hot off the Web! Some important NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS in and around Chicago! (Perhaps I never mentioned to you my ambition of becoming a Pup Reporter, for a Great Metropolitan Newspaper!)
ALL CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's proposed 2008 $5.4 billion dollar budget, which includes $203 Million in increased taxes, is in for a tough road ahead, according to several north side alderman.
"I think during the next two weeks (when the City Council Budget Committee holds its hearings), we're going to be asking a lot of questions," said Alderman Eugene Schulter, 47th Ward Alderman. "Obviously I'm getting a lot of phone calls from people opposed to a (property) tax increase."
Proposed new taxes would range from a ten-cent tax on every bottle of water, to an 85% increase in the tax on beer. City vehicle stickers would increase to $120, from $50, each year. Water bills will increase, as will, most likely, property taxes. Click here for more!
NORTH CENTER/LAKEVIEW - Sante Iacovelli, the newly appointed principal at St. Benedict's Catholic School, is starting out with a bang! The 230-student institution boast a student-to-teacher ratio, as well as the only full-time performing arts curriculum of any Chicago Catholic High School.
Iacovelli is happy to see students excited at school athletic events. "They're even singing the school song at games - I haven't seen that before this year," he said.
"This year St. Ben's will be sponsoring a "service-a-thon," with volunteers helping out at places like the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the St. Vincent dePaul Center," Iacovelli continued. "But our real focus is on academics. And while St. Ben's has raised some standards, the truth is that if there's a student who wants to learn and we can help them, they're welcome here," Mr. Iacovelli wants to boos enrollment at St. Ben's by 100 students by 2012. Click here for more!
SOUTH LOOP - Manny's, the iconic Chicago deli at 1141 S. Jefferson Street, just north of Roosevelt, is now open late for dinner! Previously closing daily at 4PM, the home of one of my favorite Corned Beef Sandwiches in the world is now closing at 8PM. Manny's favorites - pastrami, short ribs of beef, and beef stew, will be joined on the menu by skirt steak, salmon - even a jumbo hamburger!
"Actually, 40 years ago we were open for dinner," says Dan Raskin, who owns Manny's with his father, Ken (the deli has been in the same family for four generations). "But the neighborhood changed, and so did our hours. But now my whole family has moved downtown, and there's a need for a place with moderate prices and good food."
Believe it or not, Manny's Restaurant now accepts credit cards, and even has a liquor license now! Beer and Corned Beef - warms the cockles of this Little White Dog's heart (and increases my cholesterol levels!) Click here for more!
JEFFERSON PARK/PORTAGE PARK/NORTHWEST SIDE - "Mowimy po Polsku" -- "We speak Polish." On the northwest side of Chicago, these world warm the hearts of a growing number of Eastern European immigrants flocking to neighborhoods such as Jefferson Park, Portage Park, and Dunning on the Northwest Side, as well as the nearby suburbs of Harwood Heights and Norridge.
In Harwood Heights, all of the employees at Rich's Food & Liquors speak Polish. Signs on the counters are mainly in Polish, and numbers at the deli counter are called out in Polish, over popular Polish music in the background.
On the Northwest Side, there is a Polish-speaking veterinarian (Dean's Team Member and proud native of Poland, Iwona Filipiak, is teaching this dog a few words - mainly those that translate into "sausage"), a Polish-speaking Day Spa, a Polish-speaking Auto Repair Shop, and the list goes on! Click here for more!
EVANSTON - In recent years, development in Evanston has proceeded at a rapid pace! Other areas, according to the Evanston Plan Commission's Downtown Committee, can sustain even greater growth.
Consulting are proposing increase height limits along Davis Street to three to five stories, to ten stories on the fringes of downtown, and up to 42 stories adjoining Fountain Square. Developers who build to these new heights could receive bonuses if they provide benefits to the public, such as public art or cultural events. Click here for more!
HEY, YOU DOGS! What's going on in YOUR community? Join our Canine Newstippers Squad, and let me know!
YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,
BUDDY HOLLY MOSS
