NEW DEVELOPMENTS, GREEN PROJECTS, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND MORE!
GOLD COAST
Brand new posh hotels are in the works for downtown Chicago. Hoteliers Ian Schrager and Marriott International Inc. just announced their new boutique brand, named “Edition,” and will debut the hotel with one just off the Magnificent Mile.
This 250 room hotel will have a 50-story tower and is planned to be developed at 150 E. Ontario. The expected opening date is in 2011.
Learn more about this renovation and the future plans of the partnership of two hotel pioneers, by clicking here.
WEST ROGERS PARK
Nadine Bopp led a sightseeing tour in West Rogers Park recently. A class of 15 students of the Chicago Art Institute School were working on a Green Map Project.
Over a week’s time they broke down into smaller groups to envision a plan to incorporate ecology, economy, and equity in the urban fabric of this community.
“The Green Map Project encourages students to connect to communities and begin a conversation on sustainable living,” Marisa Holmes, an SAIC film major said. Marisa is from Worthington, Ohio and was interested in the class because of her fascination with environmental justice. Learn all about this project by clicking here.
EDGEWATER
The Rickover Naval Academy has had a predominant presence in the community since it’s opening in the fall of 2005.
A wing at Senn High School, Rickover’s 318 cadets have been battling Edgewater residents who continue to lobby The Chicago Board of Education to reverse its decision to house a military academy in unused classrooms at the public high school.
Residents of the 48th Ward, who voted overwhelmingly to start a process to remove the Academy in a March 2006 advisory referendum, have complained that the military academy takes away from the high school.
It has been said that Rickover, one of the six high school military academies operated by the Chicago Public Schools, is being used as a recruiting ground for the Iraq War.
“Our main goal is to bring in students who are interested in being here, not students whose parents are forcing them to come because those students won’t do well,” Rickover principal and former Navy reservist Micheal Biela said.
“Some parents think we’re a boot camp and want to send their child to get fixed. We can’t do that. We’re college prep; we just use a different model. Some students respond to different kinds of models and that is what CPS are all about—choice.” Biela said. Read the entire article by clicking here.
JEFFERSON PARK
Two of the last remaining visible signs of the Lerner Newspapers, read by both presidents and poets, are closing this week. This comes as a company-wide attempt by the Sun-Times to cut costs.
Lerner Newspapers began as a free shopper, grew into one of the nation’s largest newspaper chains, was sold three times and became part of Pioneer Press. Now Jefferson Park/Portage Park Times and the Harlem-Irving Times will be no more. Pioneer management announced the decision to close the papers in early January.
“I think it is very sad,” said Cynthia Linton, former executive editor of Lerner. “The Times papers were always the strongest of the Lerner papers. Until now, they have lasted. It’s sad.” Read the whole story by clicking here.
OAK PARK
Oak Park teens now have a place to call their own. The Park District opens the doors to the 49th Lake Street Teen center on February 6th with entertainment and games to keep teens busy. There is also space available to study and do homework.
“I’m really, really excited. It’s been a lot of work putting everything together, and a lot of meetings with teens and community members and staff, but I think everything’s coming together really well,” Bobbi Nance, teen supervisor, said.
The teen center has been in the making for over a year now. It will be located in the lower level of Stevenson Center. Children who come to the center can check their e-mail, grab a snack or just hang out. Learn all about this new facility by clicking here.
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JENNIFER GARRITY & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
