Where is this?

Via sixthward ig

I posted this over at the The Sixth Ward  ig page- of which you can see a slideshow in the sidebar. So Can you identify this piece of ornament on a building in Chicago's 9th Ward/Roseland area. It does resemble a familiar brand that probably had an office in that particular building once upon a time.

Well this question was answered on Instagram, but I do wonder who else knows where this is?

There should be an elected school board

http://www.cpsboe.org/

It took me a while to come to this conclusion but I've finally decided that there should be an elected school board in Chicago. Not saying that this is the best solution for our schools in Chicago, but it's an idea that should be considered.

The only caveat that I've considered is that there must be a hybrid board where the people can elect members and the mayor can appoint members. This has always been my thought however the Chicago Sun-Times solidified this much further in an editorial.

This Tribune editorial makes further points about the various points of school boards whether hybrid, elected or totally appointed. To be sure, I have little problem with the Mayor of Chicago having some form of direct influence on the Chicago Public Schools. This is one reason I support a hybrid board.

I also believe that the most important interest group - the parents need representation to influence the decisions of the Chicago Public Schools. I propose that a majority of the members can be elected to the board of which there are currently seven members. Therefore four members should be elected and three should be appointed. In addition those four elected should be from districts divided up at least four ways throughout the city. The mayor can appoint the people he wants on the school board with their expertise and the people can elect who they want on the board of ed.

Furthermore I recognize how at time public education can be very politicized. Unfortunately the public schools have borne a lot of negative press over the years and this may cause more politicization. I hope that future members of the board of ed can recognize that the most important thing they have to do is ensure that the youth of the city of Chicago are educated and ready for the world.

Election for 9th ward alderman...

For the 9th Ward the 2015 election is in the books Ald. Anthony Beale wins another term. Here were the results as of last night from ABC 7 Chicago. Hopefully I will have results from different sources available in the future as well. May even set up a page similar to what exists at The Sixth Ward as something of an archive which includes the election results.

Polls open today

Today the people of Chicago will elect not only their Aldermen, but also a mayor, clerk and treasurer. In addition in 37 wards there is a referendum on whether or not Chicago should have an elected school board.

Many of you probably early voted already and for those of us who haven't then find your local polling place here. Polls are open from 6 AM to 7 PM today. If you have no idea who's on the ballot before you hit the ballot box go here again, input your information and look for a sample ballot tab.

Or you can also call the Chicago Board of Elections at 312.269.7900

I want to also refer to the Sixth Ward's 2015 page for candidates running for Alderman in the 9th ward. Of course over there we're also covering wards 6 & 21, but here we're more concerned about the 9th ward.

Hopefully I will be able to post election results here for 9th ward alderman candidate.

Please vote today and have a direct effect on the future of our communities for the next four years.

Ted Williams III interviewed on #Aldertrack

[VIDEO] So if I read the e-mail correctly, this is the last of the Aldertrack interviews with candidates for Alderman in 2015. And current series ended with Ted Williams running in the 9th ward. He had previously interviewed Michael LaFargue & Noonie Ward previously in the 9th. Unfortunately we never had a chance to see Foucher interview the incumbent Anthony Beale.

Well I hope you have watched those interviews and will make an informed choice in tomorrow's election. Anything said by Professor Williams would sway your vote for alderman?

9th ward mailers #Aldertrack

As we head into the final weekend of the 2015 municipal elections I would like to share with you two more mailers from Ald. Beale and opponent Ted Williams.

School's out for President's Day

Last week was Lincoln's Birthday, today is President's Day. I barely paid attention to this holiday when I was in school. Although today I may acknowledge it because my interest in politics began while still in elementary school.

BTW, Lincoln's b-day is a state holiday in Illinois while President's Day is a federal holiday.

LaFargue mailer #Aldertrack

This mailer for 9th ward alderman challenger Michael LaFargue was e-mailed to me recently. These flyers should be going out this week. Anything said here sway your vote?

BTW, I've been wondering when we'd start seeing pieces from him.

9th ward Alderman candidates forum

[VIDEO] I haven't been able to make a candidate's forum at all this year but at least CAN-TV provides footage for those around the city. You can join Aldertrack's e-mail list to see most of them.

All the same you can watch an hour of debate between candidate's Chicago's 9th ward from this past Saturday at Simeon High School. Was anything said by any candidate that could sway your vote?

Ald. Beale mailer part 4 #Aldertrack

This recent mailer by Ald. Anthony Beale highlighting his support for the reform of the red light camera program. He had been getting hit by his opponent Harold "Noonie" Ward for the red light camera tickets.

Chicago-L.org

Not long ago I posted CTA video that documents a trip on the red line from 95th Street all the way to Howard Street on the north side. Main reason was to show the scenes after the train leaves 95th and there's a much larger city than what you see on the South Side.

Now I want to share Chicago-L.org which chronicles the long history of Chicago's L system. It's a fascinating site that I have followed since attending one of the City Colleges of Chicago. Hopefully it's of great interest to you.

BTW, here's a history of the Dan Ryan line of the CTA Red Line.

NOTE: The banner above is old, but the best possible I could find from that site. It just shows how old the site truly is.

Pullman to become a national monument

Via The Chicago Neighborhoods

Great news for the south side, hopefully the surrounding areas will reap the benefits. And just in time for Black History Month, we also learn the pivotal role of Pullman for Black history via Chicago Tribune. Especially since Pullman's main employer was a manufacturer of rail cars that had been staffed with blacks once these cars were on the rails.

Of course let's not forget labor history. Pullman was a site of a major strike once that saw federal troops intervene. Also the mainly Black Pullman porters agitated successfully for a union even if most of them didn't call Pullman home.

I forgot to note that next week, Pullman will be declared a national monument. I'd be excited to see what this development will bring! :)

So what's in a name part 2

Notice the header up top. In the past this is what you would've seen at the top. Except I made some changes to reflect the current purpose of this blog.

Sometimes, you narrow the focus of a project so narrowly that it only opens it up to expansion to other subjects. I could just focus on education and Shedd School, but then how much news could I uncover especially if I lose focus on education.

So now this isn't a blog about Shedd School, but a "ninth ward" blog. It seems appropriate since we're in election season and I've been posting videos, mailers, and even candidate forums. There is more to discuss.

While I've toyed with just calling this place Shedd School or Public School, I've finally made the decision. The official name of this blog hasn't changed John G. Shedd Public School and for the moment the subheader is now A "ninth ward" blog.

Should this stick or should it always be tweaked?

Ald. Beale mailer part 3 #Aldertrack

Slightly different mailer for Ald. Anthony Beale that the other two already posted. He highlights his support for various projects in the 9th ward such as the reconstruction of the CTA 95th terminal, city colleges' logistics hub, the Walmart and shopping center in Pullman, Method factory, and more affordable housing. Of course he highlights bringing to his ward new jobs with higher wages and fighting to raise the minimum wage.

Anything said in the flyer below sway your vote?

9th ward action...

[VIDEO] Before I note once again the two candidates forums today, I wanted to share with you this recent video from 9th ward candidate Michael LaFargue. He is hoping to take the Alderman seat of current Alderman Anthony Beale.

LaFargue - currently President of the West Chesterfield Community Association - does a video featuring his background. He also features some of the other community activists and business owners of the 9th ward.

This includes Eddie Davis of Bass Furniture - 11431 South Michigan Avenue - who commented on the shopping mall that we recently noted here. The shopping mall that was once located at 115th/Michigan was demolished during the course of the last decade. Davis claimed the closure and demolition of this mall has hurt other nearby businesses.

It's a long video of roughly 15 minutes. Anything said in this video sway your vote?

Todays candidate forums for 9th ward candidates

• Chesterfield Community Council 9th Ward candidate forums at 11 AM
  McDade Classical School
  8801 S. Indiana
  Noted recently on this blog

• NAACP candidates forum with 9th Ward candidates scheduled for 1 PM
  Simeon High School
  8147 S. Vincennees
  Also noted on this blog

What would you like to see at 115th/Michigan

115th/Michigan - Summer 2014

Over at The Sixth Ward I did a post about this corner in June 2013. The pics seen in this post save for the final historic post was taken in the summer of 2014. Consider this something of an election year post as I believe this corner could be a key one when the red line extension is finally built.

There are four people running for Alderman including the incumbent and he has three challengers. Hopefully all of them have an eye on this corner and perhaps their vision may not even include the red line extension although it is my belief this corner would benefit from the proposed stop over Michigan Avenue. Whatever the vision hopefully it would include some form of transit oriented development.

Over the years the lot at 115th & Michigan had a number of buildings including a shopping center that had been razed during the course of the last decade. That lot included a number of retail stores (such as a grocery store and Perry Drugs), restaurants (such as The Coffee Pot), and more. The most recent development plans for that lot included a future shopping center including an Aldi's.

Family Dollar 115th/Michigan

The vacant lot to the east on 115th/Michigan

What I failed to do in the other post was show a picture of how this intersection looked back in the day. This business strip was actually an active area with plenty of activity but what happens over time things do change. Perhaps we'll see this activity again by the time the Red Line is up and running in the near future hopefully. Below is what you'd have seen at this intersection east of 115th/Michigan.

115th/Michigan in 1934

Now the burning question...what would you like to see here?

9th Ward candidates forum on Saturday #Aldertrack

This coming Saturday is proving to be a very packed Saturday for those of us who are following the 2015 elections. If you're following the 9th ward race there is another forum later on Saturday at 1 PM sponsored by the NAACP.

• The Chesterfield Community Council (CCC) will host the
  "9th Ward Aldermanic Candidates Forum"
  on Saturday, February 7, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.
  at McDade Classical School,
  8801 South Indiana
  The moderator will be Curtis "AC" Green, Radio Personality, 106.3 fm /1390 am Radio.
  All are welcomed.
  

My Block My Hood My City visits Altgeld Garden #mbmhmc

[VIDEO] I'm sorry this hadn't been shared here. Please visit My Hood My Block My City and consider buying a t-shirt or hoodie sweatshirt. You'll be supporting this project when you do.

Jahmal Cole is in the middle of a project that took him to at first different Chicago parks. For example he did one episode in Abbott Park where he met with Republican US Senate candidate Jim Oberweis.

Lately he's been going to different neighborhood and this week he visited Humboldt Park on the northwest side of town. Today we're going to look at his visit to Altgeld Garden located near the far south city limits of Chicago. Mr. Cole refers to the Garden as President Obama's old stomping grounds there was where the President made his living as a community organizer.

There is one landmark of note here for the Garden.

"The Wall" or "The Wall of Death" lists the names of deceased Altgeld Residents --- going back decades. It's a tradition at the Gardens to write the names on the wall, so the person's name will be set on stone and never forgotten.  This is social capital at its finest. In the Pullman community, residents that live on a different tier of the Socioeconomic ladder, hang fancy art work on the gates in their alleys. At the Altgeld Gardens, the local residents write names on the wall. Beauty can't be stratified.

Via The Sixth Ward

CTA Red Line Extension

Yup I did promise a post on the Red Line extension. This post was originally posted to The Sixth Ward blog on August 23, 2009. Of course there has been further updates since then and will be crossposted here. In addition some of the information here is out of date as there have been CTA and Pace bus service changes over the years. However, I do sincerely hope to be on the first run on the first day of service on the future extension.

The following pictures in this post were taken from the slideshow presentations of Red Line extension alternatives. Particularly the presentations you would have seen at either Woodson Library or Olive Harvey College on June 3 & 4, 2009.

This route is the locally preferred alternative. It would roughly leave 95th Street and would be elevated along the Union Pacific Railroad with stops at 103rd, 111th, 115th, and 130th streets. There is no indication of where exactly the terminal would be although other stories about the CTA's approval of a Red Line extension would have the terminal near the South Shore rail line.

This pic is a conception of the 103rd Street Red Line station. One aspect of the proposed L extension is to eliminate the long bus rides to the 95th Terminal. If the Roseland L gets built I can only imagine that we may see another reorganization of bus routes along the extension.

For example, if students at Julian & Corliss High Schools in addition to Olive Harvey College may have to get off at 103rd Street to get to their respective campuses. That could mean that the 103 bus may no longer be routed to 95th and it'll just be an east-west bus between the current 103 bus terminus at 104th & Pulaski and the current terminus of the 106 bus at 103rd & Stony Island (well it's that bus barn on East 103rd).

I can only imagine that the 106 will be eliminated especially if the 103 will no longer be routed to 95th Street. If a bus rider had to go north on Michigan they would have to change buses instead of being able to stay on the bus to ride North on Michigan Avenue. Either way this routing should eliminate any concern there might be regarding our young people from area schools or any other traffic that comes into 95th on any given weekday.

Also since there are stations along the way I could see other routes being changed such as the Pace 353 bus. If the route of the 353 bus could terminate at the 115th Street stop instead of going to 95th. When that happens King Drive south of 95th could lose their bus service.

Well I know I can't figure out all the possible changes and before anything should happen the extension has to be built first.

NAACP 2015 candidates forum

Also on Saturday the NAACP forums will be later that afternoon at Simeon High School - 8147 S. Vincennes Ave.- and these forums will include candidates for wards 6, 9, & 21. Candidates from ward 9 will kick off the festivities starting at 1 PM. This event was advertized at The Sixth Ward last month and the flyer is below for this event.

facebook me!

facebook.com

Years ago someone on fb was able to contact me regarding an opportunity to start an alumni organization for Bennett-Shedd School. This was a while ago, however, times have changed. Then I responded to that message somewhat coolly because it certainly came out of nowhere and I never posted my fb information here.

That changes this week. This doesn't mean well be fast friends of course, but as to whether or not you want me to feel comfortable around you is entirely up to you. You're always free to say hello or what not.

Another idea I have considered is whether or not this Shedd School/Public School blog needs it's own fb page. I have some experience with The Sixth Ward and it's various social networking wings so that shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish. Feel free to let me know if that interests you although there are fb groups for past and present students of Bennett/Shedd School.

Also, this has become something of a "9th Ward Blog" lately as Bennett-Shedd is located within that city council district. So it's probably OK to start compiling groups for that purpose as well.

In the meanwhile feel free to facebook me. I have a badge at the top of the sidebar and you can also find me via the email address - itsmymind @ gmail.com - also in sidebar.

Black History Month 2015

Originally written over at The Sixth Ward in February 2014. It sums up most of my current feelings regarding Black History Month (BHM).
 
You know, I don't recall if there has ever been a dedicated acknowledgement of Black History Month here on this blog. The audience for this blog and the areas we hope to cover are predominantly Black and hopefully if we ever did BHM themed posts it would be appreciated.

On RAGE's FB page they asked whether or not BHM is still relevant. It's relevant in more ways than one and knowing history is very important.

I've simply come to a conclusion that Black history isn't merely reciting one-minute facts about many of the people in Black history. In addition we're also making history everyday. It's for that reason that I hope to start reading more for BHM.

There are some books on my reading list that would be considered must reads in February. For example, many of us mourned the death of South African President Nelson Mandela in 2013. How many of us has read his book The Long Walk to Freedom. While it's a book from a different country it's still a relatable story.

There is also Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave written by Frederick Douglass himself. Who here has read this book starting at least in elementary school as I did? If only I was actually willing to read back in those days. And now since it's a public domain book there's really no excuse to not read it at all!

Another book, that I started reading recently but have yet to finish is Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington. If you don't know who that is he's especially known for founding Tuskegee University, an HBCU located in Alabama. It's another autobiography worth reading about someone who was also born into slavery or at least born immediately after slavery's abolition. This book is also available in the public domain, so again no excuse to not read it.

Of course there are other books worth reading if you're into local focus. Perhaps you could read Jahmal Cole's book - The Torch of Decency - which is about Chicago's Chatham Community. There's also the late Dempsey Travis' book An Autobiography of Black Chicago & An Autobiography of Black Politics. And those aren't the only books worth reading from Dempsey Travis either.

What are you doing to mark Black History Month? Do you have any books to recommend reading for Black History Month? What would you do to make history yourself?

#chiberia: CPS classes are cancelled due to the snow...

You may have seen this announcement if you follow CPS' FB and Twitter profiles. This is important news so sorry if this is breaking into your enjoyment of tonight's Super Bowl between the Patriots and Seahawks.

Also I wanted to share with you the city plow tracker to see if the city is coming down your street to clear it.

If you want to see a radar picture here's WGN's Chicago Weather Center radar.