March 20 - 26, 2024

SportsWise

Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team broke Pete Maravich's 54-year NCAA all-time scoring record this month. The SportsWise team discusses her upcoming professional career.

Cover Story: American Women Quarters program

Women's History Month is a perfect occasion to survey the 20 women honored in the U.S. Mint's four-year American Women Quarters, originally conceived to mark the centennial of women's suffrage. Women depicted include every ethnicity, from Caucasian to African American and Native American, Japanese American, Hispanic American, Indigenous Hawaiian and more.

From the streets

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced historic annual funding -- $3.16 billion –to homelessness programs across the U.S., including Chicago and Suburban Cook County.

The Playground

THIS PAGE: Maria Tallchief quarter event at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Nov. 11, 2023 (Jill Westeyn photo). DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of StreetWise.

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& ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Celebrate Black Composers!

Titus Underwood presents ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’

The Music Institute of Chicago welcomes multimedia musical artist Titus Underwood in “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” highlighting a range of Black composers through media, speech, and music Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston. Principal oboe of the Nashville Symphony, Underwood presents a multimedia performance that showcases classical music, including works by William Grant Still, Brian Nabors, and Florence Price, beside spoken word and film, offering Black composers with different points of experience and expression. Underwood is passionate about creating projects that advocate for and showcase Black artists. By intricately weaving film and music together, he brings his artistic vision to reimagine classical music. His most acclaimed project, a timely rendition of “Lift Every Voice,” became a viral Internet sensation with more than 1 million views. Tickets start at $30 at nicholsconcerthall.org. The performance also will be available via livestream for $15 at nichols-concert-hall.ticketleap.com

Celebrate an Icon!

Center Stage at the Ruth Page

Annual celebration of founder and dance icon Ruth Page’s birth (1899 – 1991), Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m., at Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Each night includes a wine and dessert reception in the lobby. Tickets are $25 for each night or $40 for both performances. Center Stage at Ruth Page annually features the in-residence organizations and invited dance companies from the Chicago dance community. The two-night event will include a mixture of preview presentations, works in progress, and tried and true fan favorites. Visit www.ruthpage.org for tickets and participating companies.

Head in the Clouds!

‘Cloud Man’

Filament Theatre presents “Cloud Man” through April 14. Amid exquisite puppetry, the play invites the audience to follow the clues to the very top of Cloud Mountain, where the views are always surprising. The story is told by Cloudia, who always had her head in the clouds. All her life, she has dreamt of seeing a Cloud Man–an extremely rare creature who lives a quiet life up high in the sky. A cleverly staged show featuring one performer, puppets, storytelling and lots of clouds, Cloud Man explores the ways we try to make sense of the world. It encourages audiences to notice the beauty and wonder to be found in everyday life: a gentle lesson in the ways we can care for the world without controlling it. Cloud Man has been specifically designed for audiences members age 4-7, but family members of all ages are welcome. Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adult and $12 for children at filamenttheatre.org

Contemporary Tragedy!

‘Girl, That’s So Tragic’

“Girl, That's so Tragic” is a contemporary exploration of Aristotle’s poetics with a goal of making the original text more accessible. Following Aristotle’s definition and the structure of ancient Greek tragedies, a small ensemble will brainstorm “contemporary tragedies” that could use this form and structure. The ensemble will then choose one to fully develop, using today's language and ideas and elements from ancient Greece while maintaining the balance explored in the workshop. Two performances only, 2 p.m. March 23 and 5 p.m. March 24 at the Underground Laboratory Theater of Mundelein Center For The Fine & Performing Arts, 1020 W. Sheridan Road on the Loyola University campus. Tickets $5 at luc.universitytickets.com

A Chicago Legend!

Alice Shaddle 'Fuller Circles'

Hyde Park Art Center presents, “Fuller Circles,” the intricate world of Chicago artist Alice Shaddle (1928 – 2017), whose practice centered on paper-based creations for more than 60 years. The exhibition explores Shaddle’s daring papier maché bas relief sculpture; shadow boxes with haunting visages; enigmatically constructed and layered collaged objects; elaborate, immersive installations with large-scale colored pencil drawings; and her paper mosaic collages. Also explored is her life and work within the context of Chicago’s kaleidoscopic art world from the 1960s into the 2000s, highlighting her association with Artemisia Gallery for many years and her 50-year career of teaching art to youth at Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. From March 23 - June 16. FREE.

Chevalier Live!

Saint-George’s Sword & Bow

No classical composer has possessed anything close to Joseph Bologne’s extraordinary range of talents, electrifying public persona, and fascinating personality. A contemporary of Mozart who was of French-African ancestry, Bologne was also known as Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The brand new Classical Kids LIVE! show features 15 Bologne compositions (including “L’amant anonyme Overture,” “Violin Concerto in A Major," “Concerto pour violin no 9 en sol majeur,” among works by other composers of the era. Sunday, March 24, 3 p.m., at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Tickets $14+ at northshorecenter.org

The Circus + Ice Capades!

Cirque du Soleil’s 'CRYSTAL'

With seven jaw-dropping traditional circus acts all thrillingly adapted for Cirque du Soleil’s first foray into a brand new creative territory – the ice – "CRYSTAL" takes audiences on an unforgettable journey into the vivid and whimsical world of imagination. At the NOW Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates, March 22 at 7:30 p.m.; March 23 at 3 & 7 p.m.; and March 24 at 1 & 5 p.m. Tickets start at $50 at cirquedusoleil.com/crystal

Rom Com on Stage!

‘Love Song’

Beane has always been different. Joan, his sister, is his only real bridge to the outside world, but she is consumed with her own life, climbing the corporate ladder and sparring with her husband, Harry. W hen Beane falls madly in love with Molly, his world suddenly expands. The seismic shift forces all of them to reexamine their own relationships and discover new facets of human connection. An off-kilter romantic comedy, "Love Song" by John Kolvenbach is a quick-witted exploration of the countless complexities of love and the endless capacity of the heart. March 21 - April 21 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets start at $10 at remybumppo.org

American Fiction!

Author Talk: Percival Everett

The Fine Arts Building and Exile in Bookville co-present an evening with literary icon Percival Everett at the Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave., on March 28 at 7 p.m. A finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and Booker Prize, and recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the National Book Critics Circle, Everett is the author of more than 30 books. His novel “Erasure” was adapted into the critically acclaimed Oscar-winning film “American Fiction.” At the event, Everett will discuss his new novel “James” with author Gabriel Bump. “James” is an action-packed reimagining of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” both harrowing and funny, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view. Tickets are $10 at fineartsbuilding.com/events/percival-everett

A Year of Restoration!

E.P.I.C. Women of Color Conference

The 2024 E.P.I.C. (Exploring Possibilities of Inner Courage) Women of Color Conference celebrates "The Year of Restoration: Women of Nations, Generations & Legacy," and offers a day filled with conversations, reflection, and connections among women of diverse cultures and backgrounds. This single-day affair will encompass a meet-and-greet continental breakfast, interactive breakthrough sessions, catered lunch featuring a distinguished guest speaker, culminating in a dining experience with intentional entertainment, highlighting leading ladies making groundbreaking contributions to their respective communities. March 23, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., at Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. $125 at zeffy.com

Ncaa stand-out caitlin clark

John: To honor Women's History Month, we are talking about the college basketball phenom Caitlin Clark from Iowa. As we speak on March 1, 2024, she is 18 points shy of the all-time NCAA 3,667-point scoring record held since 1970 by “Pistol Pete” Maravich of LSU. What are her prospects in the WNBA?

Russell: Congratulations to Ms. Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten. She’s not going to the Chicago Sky, because the Indiana Fever has the first draft WNBA pick. I know she’s got that bitter taste in her mouth from the championship game Iowa lost last year to LSU. I know she wants to avenge that. Man, she can really shoot three-pointers like mad – NBA style!

John: Do you think the Chicago Sky could possibly make a trade with the Indiana Fever if the salary cap doesn't fit for the Fever?

Russell: The Sky has the No. 3 and 8 picks in the first round. They might, but I doubt it.

John: Do you think Caitlin might hold out if she likes

Chicago so much until the Sky picks her? Chicago is closer to her home [Des Moines] than Indiana.

William: I'm hoping she'll end up playing for the Chicago Sky, because then maybe we'd finally have a sports team in this town that doesn't suck.

John: I mean, we have to talk about a team other than Michigan, right?

William: That we do, John. I’m an Illini fan; the Iowa Hawkeyes I don’t have as much access to as I did in the town I grew up in, which was right across the river from Iowa.

John: As far as Caitlin Clark, she had a fifth-year clause because of COVID in 2020-21 that she waived off because of the money she figures is now out there. If she waits another year, she might not have as high a value. If I were

her, I would see if I could make a trade to join the Chicago Sky, because she’s a player you could actually get excited about.

Russell: Maybe we can start getting more respect for the women. They can play too.

William: I have to say basically the same thing. I wish her the best of luck. And I would like to see her really go a long distance, especially when she's about to break a guy's record. I wish more people would have more respect for women playing sports.

John: So women's college basketball is coming along: not just UConn or Coach Pat Summitt of Tennessee anymore or Louisiana Tech of the early years. Or Cheryl Miller, who played at USC in 1982-86 and Candace Parker, at Tennessee 2004-08. Those two, more than anybody else, were responsible for helping

out with women's college basketball.

As far as Iowa, I hope they win this year, because it will give us in Chicago something to talk about besides Michigan and Ohio State and the big expansion in the Big 10 next year. Illinois isn’t a lot to talk about and Northwestern overachieved this year in football and their men’s basketball is decent. Overall though, unless you live in Evanston, Chicago is all about Michigan, Michigan, Michigan.

(Editor’s Note: Caitlin Clark needed just 18 points to break Maravich’s record. She accomplished this on a free throw at the end of the second quarter Sunday, March 3 against Ohio State. The Hawkeyes won, 93-83.)

Any comments, suggestions or topic ideas for the SportsWise team? Email StreetWise Editor Suzanne Hanney at suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com

Vendors John Hagan, Russell Adams and William Plowman chat about the world of sports.

Caitlin Clark in Iowa City March 3 (Jeffrey Becker photo).

Wednesday May 22, 2024

12:00 Noon - 1:00 PM 77 West Washington — Chicago

Featuring:

Luciano Antonio, Guitarist

Heitor Garcia, Percussionist

Held to commemorate the lives of our neighbors who were buried by the Office of the Cook County Medical Examiner

Keynote Speaker

DR. BRAD BRAXTON

President and Professor of Public Theology for CTS Chicago

Official Greetings from Ms. Toni Preckwinkle President of The Cook County Board of Commissioners

“To live and die alone is a human tragedy, but not to be remembered and mourned after earthly life is an ugly blemish on human dignity.”

W. Earl Lewis (1949-1999) Founder, The Interfaith Memorial Service for Indigent Persons

On the Flipside

American Women honored on US Quarters

by Suzanne Hanney

Sometime this year, teen girls might be buying ice cream after school when they notice some “historic change” in their hands: U.S. quarters depicting pilot Bessie Coleman and ballerina Maria Tallchief.

Immediately going to their phones, the girls will learn not only about the two Chicagoans – and Ida B. Wells-Barnett next year – but about the 20 women in the U.S. Mint’s fouryear American Women Quarters Program.

Other than Lady Liberty, Sacagawea and Susan B. Anthony, this is the first time American women have been featured on U.S. coinage. The honorees on the reverse (tails) side of the quarters are ethnically, racially and geographically diverse: Caucasian, African American, Japanese American, Chinese American, Native American, Indigenous Hawaiian, Hispanic American, Mexican American, Cuban American, as well as Jewish, disabled and gender-nonconforming. Their accomplishments encompass suffrage, civil rights, abolition, government, humanities, science, space and the arts.

A flyer and a‘Firebird’

Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was born Jan. 26, 1892 in Texas to a sharecropper family of African American and Native American descent. She completed one term of college at Langston University in Oklahoma before she ran out of funds and returned home. Making good on her childhood vow to “amount to something,” according to cradleofaviation.com, in 1915 at age 23, she came to Chicago to live with her brother and work as a cosmetician and manicurist in a barber shop. After World War I, returning veterans inspired her with their stories of flight, but American flight schools admitted neither Blacks nor women. The Chicago Defender’s Robert Abbott encouraged her to study in France, so she took a second job to earn money quickly and was assisted by the banker Jesse Binga and the Defender. Returning to the U.S. in September 1922 as the first African American woman to obtain a pilot’s license, she was known as “Queen Bess” and “Brave Bessie” as she flew in aerobatic demonstrations – loops, figure eights, near-ground dips – across the nation. Her stipulation was that the audience was desegregated and admitted through the same gates.

Maria Tallchief was born Jan. 24, 1925 in Fairfax, Oklahoma on the oil-rich Osage Indian reservation and her family moved to Beverly Hills, CA when she was 8. She excelled at dance and playing the piano and at 17, she moved to New York City to pursue her dreams of becoming a ballerina. She was selected as an apprentice in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, the premier Russian ballet company in the United States, and in 1946 she married famed choreographer George Balanchine. Tallchief’s exceptional technique and energy as a ballerina and Balanchine’s expertise and innovation as a choreographer transformed classical ballet, both in America and around the world. When the couple’s marriage ended, she remained at the forefront of Balanchine’s works for his company, the New York City Ballet.

Tallchief married construction company CEO Henry "Buzz" Paschen of Chicago in 1956 and gave birth to their daughter Elise in 1959. She retired as a performer in the late 1960s and founded the ballet school of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She also served as artistic director at the Chicago City Ballet, the resident ballet for Lyric and an important independent dance organization for much of the 1980s. Her coin features her signature role in Stravinsky’s ballet, “Firebird,” which showcased her resilience and confidence; it also features a name selected by her grandmother and given to her by the Osage Tribal Council,“Wa-Xthe-Thoṉba,” which translates to “Two Standards,” written in Osage or thography.

On the flip side, a new view of George

The obverse (heads) side of the quarters will feature a right-facing view of George Washing ton. This design was originally composed and sculpted by a woman, Laura Gardin Fraser, and recommended for the 1932 quarter to mark Wash ington’s 200th birthday. However, then-Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon chose the left-facing design by John Flanagan instead.

According to the U.S. Mint’s Sharon McPike, the American Women Quarters series came about in 2019 as the Mint

was brainstorming ideas after coming off two back-to-back 12year programs. The first program had authorized the 50 quarters from every state and the second was “America the Beautiful”: national parks and historic sites. A shorter program was needed.

Typically, the Mint does not advocate for legislation, McPike said, but Congress passed “the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020,” a bipartisan bill that authorized a nine-year series. The centennial of women’s suffrage in 2020 was the inspiration for the American Women Quarters from 2022-2025; followed by the U.S. semiquincentennial in 2026, or 250th anniversary; and finally, three years of youth sports, including Paralympics.

Choosing the women honorees was more complicated. The Mint worked with Smithsonian Institution’s American Women’s History Initiative, the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM), and the Congressional Bipartisan Women’s Caucus. Approximately 11,000 suggestions came through its online portal, said NWHM Vice President of External Affairs Jennifer Herrera.

There will be an average of 500 million of each women’s quarter in circulation, depending on how many coins the 12 Federal Reserve banks say are needed, McPike said. Each design is struck exclusively during its period, and the Mint has produced 5.2 billion American Women quarters to date.

Recognizing prominent women will inspire future generations of young women to “dream big,” said U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), one of the sponsors of the bipartisan legislation authorizing the collectible quarters. “From business boardrooms to research labs to state legislatures…this bill recognizes the decades of contributions women have made and will make to our shared history.”

Maya Angelou (19281914) rose to international prominence with her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Angelou was a dancer, a journalist and actor in Broadway and off-Broadway plays. At the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she served as northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Dr. Sally Ride (1951-2012) was a physicist and first American woman in space. During the six days of mission STS7, in June 1983, she deployed and retrieved a satellite with the shuttle’s robotic arm. She co-wrote six science books for young people and started an edu cation company focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Wilma Mankiller (1945-2010) was the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1987. She tripled her tribe’s enrollment, doubled employment, and built new housing, health centers, and children’s programs in northeast Oklahoma. Infant mortality declined and educational levels rose. She became a strong voice worldwide for social justice, native people, and women.

Nina Otero-Warren (1881-1965) was a suffrage leader and the first woman superintendent of Santa Fe public schools who advanced preservation of Hispanic and Native American cultural practices. Otero-Warren emphasized the use of Spanish language to reach Hispanic women in the suf frage fight and spearheaded ratification of the 19th Amendment in New Mexico.

Deputy Director Kristie McNally, right, presents a shadow box containing two Maria Tallchief quarters, one from each of the production facilities in Denver and Philadelphia, to Tallchief's daughter, the poet Elise Paschen. INSET: The newly produced right-facing view of George Washington. (All images courtesy of the United States Mint)

Anna May Wong (1905-1961) was the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood. She was an extra in “The Red Lantern” (1919) at 14, and her first leading role was in “The Toll of the Sea” (1922). She appeared in 60+ movies and became the first Asian American lead in a U.S. television show for her role in “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong” (1951).

Jovita Idar (18851946) was a Mexican American journalist, activist, teacher, and suffragist. She fought separatist ideologies and sought to create a better future for Mexican Americans through education and civil rights. Born in Laredo, Texas, she wrote against racism and helped form the League of Mexican Women, for which she was chosen first president.

Bessie Coleman (1892-1926) was the first African American and first Native American woman licensed pilot.

Edith Kanaka' ole (1913-1979) was an indigenous Hawaiian composer and custodian of native culture. She rescued customs that were disappearing due to cultural bigotry of the time. In the 1950s, she toured the U.S. with a hula group. She helped develop the first Hawaiian language program for public school students and created college courses on ethnobotany, Polynesian history, Hawaiian chant and mythology.

Maria Tallchief (1925-2013) was America’s first prima ballerina. She broke barriers as a Native American dancer, exhibiting strength and resilience on and off the stage.

Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray (19101985) was a poet, writer, activist, civil rights lawyer, first Black woman Episcopal priest who struggled with her sexual and gender identity. Their 1950 book, “States’ Laws on Race and Color,” helped overturn the Supreme Court segregation case, Brown v. Board of Education. Murray, Betty Friedan and others founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) but they later believed Black and working-class women were inadequately addressed.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was a reformer, author and the most influential First Lady in U.S. history. During her husband Franklin’s presidency, she traveled extensively, reporting to him about relief projects, living and working conditions. After his death in 1945, Roosevelt chaired the United Nations Human Rights Commission and was instrumental in passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927-2002) was the first woman of color to serve in Congress. A third-generation Japanese American, she was one of only two women and two Asian Americans in her law school class at the University of Chicago. A member of Congress from Hawaii from 1965-77 and 1990-2002, she fought for gender and racial equality, affordable childcare, support for low-income women and families, environmental protection, and she co-authored Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education programs.

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) was an abolitionist, a volunteer surgeon during the Civil War (because women were not allowed to be medical officers), a spy, an advocate for women’s rights and for dressing in comfortable and practical men’s trousers.

Coins coming in 2025

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) – Born in Mississippi, she began her career as a teacher. When a friend was lynched, she turned to investigative journalism on mob violence and lectured internationally. She called for a boycott of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 on the grounds it portrayed African-Americans negatively. Married to lawyer Ferdinand Barnett in 1895, she balanced motherhood and activism: on women’s suffrage, civil rights and urban reform in Chicago.

Celia Cruz (1925-2003) was born in Havana, studied at the National Conservatory of Music there and came to the U.S. in 1961 after the Cuban Revolution. With the Tito Puente Orchestra, she was instrumental in developing salsa: music born of Cuban and Afro-Latin traditions, including lyrics and dress, when it was not popular to do so. Over a 60-year career, she recorded 80 albums, earned 23 Gold Awards, won five Grammys and appeared in movies such as the 1992 “Mambo Kings.” Her trademark orange, red and white polka dot dress and shoes are in the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.

Juliette Gordon Low (1860-1927) – founded the Girl Scouts, the largest and most successful organization for girls in the world. Born in Savannah, GA, she attended exclusive boarding schools. Widowed after an unhappy marriage, she met Boy Scout founder Lord Robert Baden-Powell and imagined a similar movement where girls could embrace their unique strengths, get outdoors, connect with their communities, challenge themselves and make the world a better place. She worked with the American Red Cross to involve Girl Scouts in World War I and spread the movement all over the world. Several ear injuries in her youth resulted in almost total hearing loss. Spelling and grammatical errors in her writing could mean she also was dyslexic, according to the National Women’s History Museum.

Dr. Vera Rubin (1928-2016) – was an astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation. She noticed that stars far from the centers of galaxies moved as fast as those closer in. Looking at just their visible mass, the laws of physics said they should spin out of orbit, so “dark matter” must be providing the gravity to hold them. Herself an observant Jew, Rubin was appointed by Pope John Paul II to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 1996. “In my own life, my science and my religion are separate,” Rubin said. “I try to do my science in a moral way, and, I believe that, ideally, science should be looked upon as something that helps us understand our role in the universe.”

Zitkala-Š a (1876-1938) was a member of the Yankton Sioux (Lakota) nation of South Dakota. Zitkala-Ša –“Red Bird” – had a traumatic education at a white-run boarding school where she was punished for keeping her native language. She then studied violin at the New England Conservatory of Music. A teacher, writer and reformer, co-founder of the National Council of American Indians, she pushed for women’s suffrage and full citizenship for Native Americans, which happened in 1924. She won improved health care and educational opportunities for Native Americans.

Stacey Park Milbern – (1987-2020) was an activist for people with disabilities. Her work at the beginning of the pandemic and so much of her life was grounded in disability justice: a framework that examines disability and ableism as it relates to other forms of oppression and identity. A Korean American, she collaborated with queer BIPOC disabled people in the San Francisco Bay Area to provide mutual aid during the coronavirus pandemic. In response to power shut-offs by the utility PG&E, she and a collective of disabled, fat, older, queer people banded together in the Power to Live campaign. Too often during climate emergencies, people in nursing homes and institutions get left behind, she said.

Althea Gibson (1927-2003) – was a multi-sport athlete and the first Black athlete to break the color barrier at the highest level in tennis. Gibson became the first African American to compete at the U.S. National Championships in 1950, seen as a momentum builder for Blacks akin to Jackie Robinson breaking the baseball color barrier. By the end of the 1958 season, Gibson retired and turned professional, as the No. 1 ranked player in the world, with 58 combined singles and doubles titles: Wimbledon, the U.S., French and Australian Opens. In 1964, she became the first African American to compete on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour.

Historic Grants to Fund Homelessness programs

by Suzanne Hanney

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced historic annual funding -- $3.16 billion – to homelessness programs across the U.S., including Chicago and Suburban Cook County.

The Chicago Continuum of Care was awarded $95,850,191 – up $9.3 million from last year – for 140 programs.

Chicago’s increase will be used to support increased rents on existing and renewed projects, and $5.2 million will go toward expanding a Rapid Rehousing project for people fleeing domestic violence and gender-based violence.

All Chicago Making Homelessness History, which is the entity that coordinates the annual application for HUD funding, has operated a Rapid Rehousing program for people fleeing gender-based violence for the past two years. It is funded by the HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) and Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, said Hank Sartin, director of communications for All Chicago, in an email. Right now, the program can house 200 participants at any given time, with funding from 3 to 24 months.

Rapid Rehousing is often used as the first housing option for people experiencing homelessness, even if a person may need services beyond 24 months, Sartin said. A case manager will work to identify long-term housing pathways, such as returning to live with family or friends, taking over their lease, connecting them to longer term housing options like permanent subsidies with or without services.

Not all 140 of Chicago’s programs were fully funded, however, and funding for 15 units of scattered site Permanent Supportive Housing program will end October 15. These participants will be transferred to other programs, Sartin said.

The Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County received $24,375,683. Its 42 existing projects were fully funded, and $771,697 covered a collective increase in Fair Market Rent.

In addition, the Suburban Cook County CoC was awarded $1,612,443 to fund three new projects and one expansion:

• $470,747 for BEDS Plus Health Recovery Permanent Supportive Housing – approximately 16 units in the south suburbs, which will mean identifying units from private landlords. The funding provides ongoing rental assistance and supportive services.

HUD’s Continuum of Care

(CoC) is the federal program supporting community response to homelessness through annual grants to non-profit providers, states, Indian tribes and units of local government for permanent and shortterm housing assistance, supportive services, planning, data, and other costs.

• $323,633 for Housing Forward Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Stability Services

• $419,001 for Respond Now South Suburban Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Stability Services

• $399,062 for a 15-unit expansion to South Suburban PADS Southland Permanent Supportive Housing

The HCV Stability Services projects will not mean more vouchers, but more effective utilization of them, Continuum of Care Planning Director Katie Eighan said in an email. Housing Choice Vouchers provide rent subsidies but no funding for locating housing, for case management, or for wraparound services. The Housing Authority of Cook County committed to setting aside 100 vouchers each year for people experiencing homelessness. The two new projects will enable better use of these vouchers, because agencies will receive funding for supports such as landlord engagement, on-going case management, child care, and more.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) is the federal program supporting community response to homelessness through annual grants to non-profit providers, states, Indian tribes and units of local government for permanent and short-term housing assistance, supportive services, planning, data, and other costs. The $3.16 billion for Fiscal Year 2023 is the largest amount of annual federal funding through the HUD’s CoC program in its history.

©PuzzleJunction.com

Crossword

Across

1 “Tomorrow” musical

6 ___ Bator, Mongolia

10 Water-skiing locale

14 No Mr. Nice Guy

15 Rest stop sight

16 Surrounded by

17 Having control

19 1954 Debra Paget flick, “Princess of the ___”

20 Popeye, e.g.

21 Blush

23 ___ el Amarna, Egypt

24 It’s near Pisces and Aquarius

25 Cut off, medically

29 Kvetch

33 Fannie or Ginnie follower

34 Place for a massage

36 Western director Sergio

37 Mark of a ruler

39 Puff up

41 Musical mark

42 Sedate

44 “Don’t get any funny ___!”

46 Certain digital watch face, for

59 Pickup shtick?

60 Swimming move

63 Ancient gathering place

64 Dundee denizen

65 Clark’s pal

66 “___ of the D’Urbervilles”

67 Longings

68 Pound sounds

Down

1 Concert prop

2 Newbies

3 Org. with a

9 It’s XC in Roman numerals

10 Inexperienced sailors

11 Valentine for Valéry

12 Where firing takes place

13 Dutch commune

18 Comfort

22 Kind of income

24 Pale sea-green color

25 Plain folk

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