ARCHIVES

Harold Ickes News

by  

Building Improvements Uneven
Harold Ickes Homes can now boast that one building has the honor of having seven floors with brand new blue tiles in the hallway of each level. It is truly lovely to see. I wonder when our nine story building will be on the receiving end.

Yes, in our building we have iron pipe hand railings, new push plates on the front and back doors, but the doors are beat up and falling apart, so the new plates are not even adhering to them. One side of our double front door fell off of its hinges somehow overnight.

At least the glass blocks that grace the front of the building have been replaced, thank you. So some upkeep work has been done.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Renaissance 2010: Sweeping Changes

by  

Ask people in low-income communities if they have heard of Renaissance 2010 and the majority would likely say they have. Ask them if they know what Renaissance 2010 is and chances are they would say they don’t. Ask if they know schools on the South and West Sides of Chicago have been closing and reopening as “small schools,” and they would most likely answer a definite “Yes.”

That, in essence, is Renaissance 2010: the closing and reopening of both grammar and high schools as “small schools” – schools within a school. The goal, according to Chicago Public Schools, is to reinvent the Chicago Public School system by the year 2010. The policy was made official at the Board of Education’s September 23 meeting according to CPS spokesperson Sandy Rodriguez, despite ongoing protests by community advocates.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

CPS Violence

by  

In March 2004, at Westinghouse Career Academy, 3301 W. Franklin Boulevard, a female attendance clerk was beaten by a student during a black-out.

At Wells Community Academy, 936 N. Ashland, two male students were shot. A week later, one of the victims was shot by a student again.

At Phillips Academy, 244 E. Pershing Road, the very school in which the Bureau of Safety and Security for the Chicago Public School System is located, a male student was beaten.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Harold Ickes News

by  

There’s one thing for sure you can always count on in Harold Ickes Homes. Common conveniences such as a public laundry room, an elevator that works and work orders being filled in a timely manner are things you will never get.

For years, our Local Advisory Council President, Gloria Williams, has been urging each management group that replaces the last one to simply supply the residents with clean, safe, essential laundry facilities.

To this date, we have no such facility, which causes residents to own and operate their own personal washers that, while in use, spinning away dirty water, flood other residents’ apartments, hallways and stairwells.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Seniors Graduate Police Class

by  

Seventy-five senior citizens were honored during a graduation ceremony this past summer for completing an eight-week program in law enforcement. Most of the graduates live in senior citizen housing in the Circle Park Residence at 1111 N. Ashland Ave., and the Amalgamated Senior Residence at 1504 W. Van Buren St. Many of these seniors speak little or no English.

Transportation was provided to get the graduates from the buildings to the ceremony, which was held in the Glasser Auditorium at Mount Sinai Hospital on the West Side. Friends and family members attended the ceremony in recognition of the graduates. Cook County Sheriff Michael F. Sheahan and Second District Cook County Commissioner Bobbie Steele were among the speakers honoring the graduates. Interpreter Carmen Perez translated the speeches for the Spanish-speaking graduates and their families. Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Harold Ickes New School Update

by  

The December 1999 RJ first revealed that the residents of 2233 S. Federal St. would feel some of the pain of progress.

The end finally came in recent months, when 65 families received word they would have only five weeks to vacate the premises that had been placed on a prioritized schedule to be demolished. Zip! Zap! No questions allowed. Just be ready for the movers because they will come. And come they did. Read more »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

The Renowned Vernon Jordan

by  

Before he went to college, civil rights veteran and businessman Vernon Jordan’s mother told him to join the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), according to his book, “Vernon Can Read.” All the white people she had worked for made their children join ROTC, his mother reasoned. “There must be something to it,” she told the young Jordan.

Jordan was a strong-willed, determined young man who persevered in his quest to succeed. He got a good education, was a successful activist and then became a business executive as well as a consultant and friend to President Bill Clinton. Though many Americans know Jordan from his involvement in the Monica Lewinsky scenario, most African Americans know about his record of accomplishment. Read more »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

The New Teachers Academy

by  

The Cermak Teachers Training Academy is being built at Cermak and Dearborn Streets within the boundaries of Harold Ickes Homes. It has been in the planning stages for the last two years and the residents of the Ickes public housing development are awaiting the fulfillment of the promise that the children who live within the boundaries will attend the school.

For the past 20 years, the federal, state and city governments have all staggered under the weight of global comparison of our educational systems and the results of so much failure to produce better readers, mathematicians and scientifically astute students. So the powers that be for us – the City of Chicago or, more specifically, the Chicago Board of Education – took a look at what the causes for such widespread academic failure could be and what they could do to make a change. Read more »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Dear Resident

by  

Welcome to the first “Back-to-School” edition of RJ. This is the first edition of RJ to be published prior to the opening of school and I would be remiss in my efforts and commitment to RJ’s readership if I did not take this opportunity to address you on the subject of education.

I once read “The purpose of education is to guarantee a successful adult life.” And to that I would like to add, “Without education, you are left to life’s other, less desirable devices.”

And our community lives with the results of these less desirable devices every day. I read this over 15 years ago in an education manual and it has stuck with me ever since.

For all intents and purposes, everything that we see and hear would lead us to believe that education is an American Priority…NOT! One has but to observe – not watch – observe the daily news shows which chronicle the day-to-day life of America, telling Americans what they need and want to know. Unless there is an event of catastrophic proportions, there is only one subject that gets more airtime and coverage than any other: SPORTS. Daily newspapers come equipped with a Sports Section. Sports, that’s the American Priority.

And sports stars command millions of dollars in salary each year. Not for educating children, building homes or saving lives. They command millions for bouncing, kicking, striking or throwing a big, small, round or sphere-shaped ball, other object or sometimes other person. And America loves it. We set aside special time to support and cheer them on. We dress like them, no matter the cost. We hang their pictures on our walls and hang on their every word. Can you imagine how well educated our children would be given the same kind of attention and support that sports command? In countries where students excel, sports stars are paid much, much less money than they are in America and understandably so.

Before I continue, I must tell you that in addition to writing for RJ, I am an employee of the Chicago Public Schools. My children and I also are products of the Chicago Public Schools. I like to think of myself as an advocate for children and education. Here in Chicago, over the past few years, it would appear that children and education are receiving more priority at the city level.

Chicago, however, is a conglomeration of varied communities, usually based on economic levels and race or the lack thereof which usually results in melting pots such as the Uptown Area, where I lived at one time. In Chicago, education has always been either a community priority or not a priority at all.

Communities that work together for the benefit of all of its members generally prosper in all areas, especially education. The Options for Knowledge Program, allowing children to attend school outside of their community, proved to be a great educational opportunity for my family.

But in addition to education being a community priority, education must also prove to be a home priority if our children are to be successful in school, resulting in a high school diploma.

I would ask that each household in our community examine itself to find its priorities. If education is not a priority, it should be. If education is a priority, it should be one of the top two.

There is only one other Entity that can have a more profound effect than education in shaping our minds, our lives, our future. Education is a foundation on which to build.

The Board of Education, with new testing guidelines and bridge programs designed to ensure that a student arrives in high school with the skills necessary to succeed, is only a third of the equation. Most of our students complete eighth grade successfully.

High School is where we start to loose ground. Students need a great deal of support in high school. Parents have to watch more closely and check more often to make sure that their student is on time, on task and on target. Students must come to school each day on time with the necessary tools (completed homework assignments, books, paper, etc.) prepared to listen, learn and participate in class. Parents must make sure that students arrive on time each day, with the necessary tools and a loud and clear expectation from parents that they are to listen, learn and participate in class. Parents must support students, their school and the educational process if their student is to be successful. This is what they do in the homes of communities where education is a priority.

In communities like ours, there are many other things that can factor into whether or not a student can/will successfully complete high school. One such factor is family history, which actually affects every area of a child’s life. A student’s chances of completing high school are less when their parents, older siblings, extended family and past generations have not completed high school. It quietly says that education is neither important nor necessary to the family and no one is expected to finish high school. Another factor is family and economic problems which can impact a student’s ability to get to school and perform well when they do. Student socialization is also a factor. High school students, especially freshmen, can suffer more than they benefit from the freedom to socialize that high school provides.

First-time high school parents: your student should have more work in high school than elementary school, not less. They will have homework every night. There are no study periods, so they didn’t do it in school. If you don’t see them with books, doing homework, there’s something wrong. And actually ask to see their work. And actually read it and ask questions about it. It can educate you too. Make sure that your words are not the only thing that says you expect your student to do well in school.

If you say you expect your child to do well in school and you let them stay out late at night, you don’t mean it. If you’ll pay for a pair of the “new” Jordan gym shoes but complain about a class fee, you don’t mean it. It’s not so much what you say as it is what you do.

For students and families that need help and support, there are many sources. But you must seek them out. More importantly, you must help yourself first. There are some things that only you can do for yourself. If you have any questions or concerns, do not wait. Contact your student’s school immediately. It is easier to keep up than it is to catch up. And while your student may not be a genius in school, I am always amazed by the things a student can get their parent to believe. If it does not sound believable, it probably is not true. Parents, the truth is only a phone call away. Human nature does one of two things: It does what it has to do. Or it does what it can get away with. Don’t let your student get away with anything. A student who knows that their parent will check on them is more likely to be where they should be, doing what they should be doing.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Stop The Violence

by  

CHA Police

I recently interviewed Richard Smiley, the director of the CHA Police Department. Smiley expressed his concern for all CHA communities.

He said, “As we approach the 21st century, police enforcement will have to be different.”

He explained that 60 percent of crimes are drug related but that we will have to treat the problem as an illness. We must deal with the cause before we can initiate a cure.

Smiley said he is starting classes for residents who need GEDs and classes for children who need to learn how to keep the weight off. Smiley noted that overweight people suffer from depression and ridicule and the class to help them is called Overeaters Anonymous and is open to all residents. The children with eating disorders will need professional help and help developing their self-esteem to conquer some of their problems.

Smiley, a former resident of Altgeld Gardens, said locking people up is not always the answer. The CHA police want to serve and protect and make the quality of life better for our people.

Smiley mentioned that CHA Police recently had successfully raided the Lawndale complex just behind where I live. He was right. I have to go to Roosevelt Road to get a bus since the service has been cut back and I was always scared because the streets are full of young men standing outside on every corner. They aren’t there anymore and I breath easier as I go home at night.

Smiley explained how the lock down of many complexes will force the drugs out:

“The residents are our clients,” he said.

Smiley’s vision is to turn would-be law breakers into law enforcers.

Part of Smiley’s program is a partnership with Harold Washington College offering residents, police officers and CHA employees programs where they can earn certificates and degrees in addictions studies. The goal of the program is to produce CHA Police officers and CHA employees who are state-certified substance abuse counselors.

Residents who go through the course will become more marketable for employment. Police officers and employees who go through the course will increase their knowledge in criminal justice and the human sciences. Interested parties can contact the Applied Science Department at Harold Washington College (312) 553-6989.

Erasing Criminal Records

On Aug. 5, I went to the Fernwood United Methodist Church, 10057 S. Wallace St. Pastor the Rev. Al Sampson and his lawyers are promising to help with erasing criminal records. This effort is called Operation Clean Slate and is sponsored by the Million Man March-Metropolitan Area Planning Committee and the Chicago chapter of Men Against Destruction-Defending Against Drugs and Social-Disorder (MAD DADS) and can be reached at (773) 287-1960.

I interviewed lawyer Rose E. Joshua, who wanted to spread the word of this program throughout the city. If turnout is heavy enough, Joshua said they may take the idea to the state legislature and get more done for people who made silly mistakes in their youth. Those records often kill their chances for finding gainful employment.

Joshua wants people who have served their time and been clear of any criminal acts for a number of years to be able to just write no on the employment application.

CAPS March

Also on Aug. 5, 25 neighborhood marches for the Community Alternative Policing Strategies (CAPS) were held throughout the city. Mayor Richard M. Daley led the one in his neighborhood. These marches involve people taking to the streets to tell the gangs that they will call the police in the event a crime is committed. They also get to know the police in their neighborhoods one on one.

Danny Davis Meeting

On Aug. 12, I met U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-7) at a meeting at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Davis said he will host meetings throughout the city.

Davis tried to address all the complaints made by the participants. There were questions on health care for children and for seniors. There was the usual concern of what is being done about the gangs. The meeting lasted for 3 hours and many other issues were discussed.

Also attending the meeting was Michael A. Robbins, director of the Handgun Epidemic Lowering Plan (HELP). Robbins spoke for all of those who have lost a loved one through gun violence, such as myself.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized