South Chicago Chamber of Commerce
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South Chicago Chamber of Commerce Calendar of Events
our NEW Pharmacy Discount Card
The Pharmacy Discount Program provides discounts for its members at certain participating pharmacies for drugs and other health care supplies. You can save from 10% to 85% on the cost of both brand name and generic prescriptions immediately. You can also save on smoking cessation aids and diabetes supplies. This program is not a prescription insurance policy. Program members are obligated to pay for all health care services but will receive a discount from those health care providers who have contracted with the discount plan organization. To print your card and for additional information including participating Pharmacies and discounted caosts of your prescription medication please visit http://hta19.lc.healthtrans.com/
please click HERE or visit
http://homepage.mac.com/kevinmurphy1532/southeastchicagocommunityeventscalendar/
SAFE PASSAGE EFFORTS
APPROVED FOR AREA BY CPS
The Claretian Associates have been approved for a new federally stimulus initiative funneled through the Chicago Public Schools. It is aimed at providing a safe passage for students to and from Bowen High School. Due to the routes of the Bowen students, almost all of the feeder schools and Epic High School will also receive attention and the presence of about 20-3– community workers that will be hired from the community for this program. It appears as though South Chicago had several proposals submitted for this initiative. They were closely examined and evaluated by CPS before the final selection was made. School administrators and school activists know quite well that attendance and school performance is impacted on the violence, gang presence and other social issues effecting the lives of our students. In order to effectively deal with academics, those other issues need to be dealt with as well. The schools chief Ron Huberman hopes this effort and others that target high-risk students in certain high schools will be a successful model in the process of improving all around achievement levels by the students across the city.
This local proposal was successful because it was prepared in collaboration with quite a few community members and stakeholders that understand the issues at hand and are quite knowledgeable of the actual crisis mode that we find ourselves in with gang violence and presence.
The job announcements will be made as the process proceeds in the remainder of July and early August. This program will be up and running by Septembers school resumption.
NEW GRANTS FOR LOCAL PROPERTY OWNERS
The city announced another round of TIF grants for housing property owners within a great portion of the South Chicago area. The areas are generally the Bush and Millgate areas. It is an attempt to preserve as much current housing stock as possible to sit side by side with the proposed new housing that is planned for those areas when the housing slump is on the rebound to a greater degree. This round has about $300,000 budgeted. The previous grants to date totaled almost a million dollars. The grants range from $12,500 to a maximum of $22,500. They are non repayable and are issued directly to the authorized vendor providing the exterior improvements that could include such things as roofs, windows, siding , doors, gutters and tuck pointing. In some cases, some interior work of high priority can be included as a 30% portion of the total grant. In order to qualify, the owner must live on the premises of the property. Their income must not exceed the guidelines which for a family of four is $74,500 and a maximum of $105,560.
A community meeting was held at OLG Church to announce the program and to distribute applications. The deadline for submission is July 16th. The Chamber staff also distributed applications to almost 50 local property owners in the targeted area for seniors and other residents whose buildings appeared to need some exterior work and could be interested in taking advantage of this opportunity. Applications and submissions are available at Neighborhood Housing Services, located locally at 9108 S. Brandon. 92nd STREET CORRIDOR GETS SOME ATTENTION! All in all, the architects that assisted in this process (Landon Bone Baker), thought that this beginning process went well and attracted quite a bit doable ideas. A follow up session will be held in the future according to Lupe Casteneda of Claretian Associates that organized this session.
1st ANNUAL MEMBER COOKOUT AT POWERS STATE PARK (Wolf Lake)
On a bright and early Saturday morning , a group of about 40 interested community residents and stakeholders from the immediate area participated in a visioning session concerning a corridor of East 92nd Street between Harbor and Baltimore. The organizers of this session, the Claretian Associates brought people together to discuss and identify the opportunities that existed for this strip due to the high amount of vacant property in this stretch. After a brief discussion, the attendees took off into the streets to conduct a visual tour of the area and to make some impressions of what their vision for this area could include to support the already new developments of Kasa Kirk Apts. And Pathways Victory Centre. Some specific suggestions are to build a community multi purpose building on the vacant lost just east of the train station, retail businesses that would include a coffee shop, convenience and hardware store. Many of the attendees want to incorporate performing and visual arts programs to this area with art studios. Job training was suggested with a focus on de construction woodworking, etc. Public art and public use with sculptures, a gazebo with live performances, community gardens and more people friendly uses were quite common with the recommendations. All contingent upon additional walking police presence and additional landscaping/flowerboxes and lighting.
CHAMBER CELEBRATES 
We've got the South Chicago Spirit!
The Chamber presenting a new BBQ grill to Commander Eric Carter of the 004th District to be used for beat meeting and clock club cook outs under the CAPS Program.
