September 14 - 20, 2020

September 14 - 20, 2020 Vol. 28 No. 36

2

$

$1.10 goes to vendor

EVERYONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD COUNTS! It’s now or a decade from now.

Fill out the Census today.

Visit My2020Census.gov

4

Arts & (Home) Entertainment

6 8

SportsWise

The city is beginning to open back up, but most Chicago events and gatherings are cancelled until further notice. We are replacing our usual calendar with recommendations from StreetWise vendors, readers and staff to keep you entertained at home!

The SportsWise Team discusses racial injustice in sports.

Cover Story: Katy Perry

After a dark few years, pop star Katy Perry is learning to be herself all over again. She opens up about pregnancy, mental health struggles and learning to smile once more.

13

From the Streets

14

Inside StreetWise

15

The Playground

Activist Pete Keller releases a new book recalling his time as a gangbanger in Cabrini-Green. Also, Uptown-based Voice of the People secures the future of affordable housing with the assistance of nationwide non-profit Preservation of Affordable Housing.

StreetWise is proud to announce the "20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans" of 2020, to be celebrated at our first-ever virtual gala on October 1 at 6 p.m.

ON THE COVER: Katy Perry photographed by Liza Voloshin.

THIS PAGE: Katy Perry courtesy of Chuffmedia.

Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher

dhamilton@streetwise.org

StreetWiseChicago @StreetWise_CHI

Suzanne Hanney, Editor-In-Chief

suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com

Amanda Jones, Director of programs

ajones@streetwise.org

Julie Youngquist, CEO

jyoungquist@streetwise.org

Ph: 773-334-6600 Office: 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL, 60616

LEARN MORE AT streetwise.org

DONATE

To make a donation to StreetWise, visit our website at www.streetwise.org/donate/ or cut out this form and mail it with your donation to StreetWise, Inc., 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60616.

We appreciate your support!

My donation is for the amount of $________________________________Billing Information: Check #_________________Credit Card Type:______________________Name:_________________________________________________________________________________ We accept: Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express

Address:_______________________________________________________________________________

Account#:_____________________________________________________City:___________________________________State:_________________Zip:_______________________ Expiration Date:________________________________________________Phone #:_________________________________Email:_________________________________________

ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time.

To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of what to do at home and why you love them to: Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org

Film Festival!

(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT

36th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival The 36th annual Chicago Latino Film Festival goes virtual September 18-27 at ChicagoLatinoFilmFestival.org with five award-winning and critically acclaimed titles: “Ema,” (Chile, 2019, 102 minutes) in Spanish with English subtitles.

Mariana DiGirolamo delivers a star-making performance as a reggaeton dancer whose marriage to choreographer Gaston (Gael Garcia Bernal) is thrown into disarray after they are forced to reverse the adoption of their son Polo when he commits a shockingly violent act.

“Divine Love,” (Brazil, 2019, 100 minutes) in Portuguese with English subtitles The Party of Supreme Love has supplanted Carnaval as the nation’s main cultural event. Scanners in public spaces announce a woman’s child-bearing status and an active sex life is encouraged -- as long as it leads to procreation -- in this synth-heavy, sci-fi film.

“The Weasel’s Tale,” (Argentina, 2019, 126 minutes) in Spanish with English subtitles A legendary actress, her retired film director and weasel hunter husband and her scriptwriter live together in an old mansion. Their clashes are no different than the ones they once experienced on a movie set in this dark comedy.

“Days of Light,” (Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, 2019, 89 minutes) Six up-and-coming Central American filmmakers tell the story of a solar storm that leaves the area without power or telecommunication for days. Characters must face life on its most basic terms.

“90 Minutes,” (Honduras, 2019, 92 minutes) in Spanish with English subtitles In the amount of time it takes to play a soccer game, the sport ties together four interlinking stories of violence, romance, suspense and drama -- from an immigrant who must fight for his life to a TV cameraman who must do everything possible to get a story.

4

Inspirational Dancing!

With Rumi Mandala South Asian Performing Arts draws inspiration from the work of 13th century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic Rumi in its hour-long performance, ”With Rumi,” Saturday, September 26 at 3 and 6 p.m. The performance will have a limited audience, pending COVID-19 restrictions, at High Concept Labs, located at Mana Contemporary Chicago, 2233 S. Throop St. and will be livestreamed for a digital audience.

Rumi’s lyricism and universal articulation of love and access to the divine serve as the basis for much Persian and Afghani music. His poetry is iconic in Persian art. "With Rumi" is conceptualized and choreographed by Mandala Executive Artistic Director Pranita Nayar and derives from Rumi’s forlorn description of lovers—tahwid—who are unable to experience transcendental “oneness” due to physical and emotional distance. Through her choreography, Nayar tells the lovers’ stories and joins the natural curves of Persian calligraphy with the angles of classical Bharatanatyam dance and the free flow of modern dance.

An original score by Sufi composer Niloufar Nourbaksh accompanies the dance and film; a digital animated film by Aadit Arora bridges the gap between page and performance. Tickets are $25 general admission for limited in-person seating and $10 to stream the performance, both available at withrumi.eventcombo.com All programming is subject to change.

Mandala Arts, founded by Nayar, explores dance, theatre, and music forms of South Asia. Performances and productions have a connection to both modern and ancient and classical traditions, ranging from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayas, from Persia to Indonesia.

Get Outta Town!

Moraine Hills State Park Located in McHenry County, this park opens at 8 am and closes at dusk (check signage as you enter for varying times) According to their webpage, approximately half of the park is composed of wetlands and lakes. Activities available at the park include hiking, biking and fishing. The park has more than 10 miles of trails.

Learn more at https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/Parks/Pages/MoraineHills.aspx -Recommended by StreetWise Intern Nina Rothschild

See Chicago Artists!

Artists Run Chicago 2.0 The Hyde Park Art Center, the non-profit hub for contemporary art located at 5020 S. Cornell Ave., re-opened its doors September 1 for the long-awaited Artists Run Chicago 2.0 exhibition, celebrating the work of 50 artist-run spaces and organizations that fuel Chicago’s independent art scene. The exhibit highlights the incredible work artists are doing in their apartments, storefronts, on the streets and even a barn, challenging conventional expectations of exhibition, discourse and community.

“Following the COVID-19-related closure of the Art Center in mid-March, we are delighted to welcome the community back with this massive exhibition, showcasing the incredible diversity and sheer force of independent art galleries operating in Chicago now,” said Kate Lorenz, Hyde Park Art Center Executive Director. “We will be proceeding with care and the utmost caution to ensure the safety of our staff, community, and visitors.”

The artist-run model has found a heightened criticality since the original 2009 exhibit. Despite taking on a multitude of forms and models, these spaces have tended to merge artistic practice and social engagement, in which their small, independent, and hyperlocal status can be constantly modified and tailored to serve the communities they call home, whether through online forums to discuss art or engaging with community activists in support of social justice. Spaces represented in Artists Run Chicago 2.0 range from Beverly to Rogers Park, Englewood to Oak Park.

Exhibit organizers are Noah Hanna and Allison Peters Quinn, with contributions from Max Guy and Andi Crist.

Artists Run Chicago 2.0 continues through November 1. The exhibition is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 12-6 p.m.; Thursdays from 1-7 p.m.; and Fridays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. There is no admission charge but, to comply with social distance standards, advance reservations are encouraged for 90-minute visits and can be made by visiting https://www.hydeparkart.org/

Socially-Distant Art!

Monet and Chicago Through Jan. 18, 2021, The Art Institute of Chicago will present “Monet and Chicago,” an exhibition that reflects the city’s cutting-edge relationship with the Impressionist artist, Claude Monet.

The Art Institute has hosted many exhibits of the artist’s work over the years, most recently in 1995, when the widely acclaimed "Claude Monet: 1840–1926" drew more than a million visitors from around the world, breaking previous attendance and sales records.

Chicago has long admired Monet. In 1891, Bertha and Potter Palmer acquired some 20 paintings by Monet. These influential tastemakers inspired private groups and collectors. In 1895, the Art Institute hosted “20 Works by Claude Monet,” the artist’s first solo show at a museum in the United States.

Today, the museum’s 33 paintings and 13 drawings constitute the largest collection of works by the artist outside of Paris. Among the more than 70 paintings in the exhibition—from the Art Institute’s holdings and Chicago-based collections—are works spanning his long career, from early caricatures made at Le Havre, to the last splendid canvases inspired by his garden and water lily pond at Giverny.

Art Institute hours are Sat-Mon 11 a.m.-6 p.m and 1 -8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Admission for Chicagoans is $20 for adults, $14 for college students and seniors over age 65, free for kids 17 and under. “Monet and Chicago" will require a $7 ticket in addition to general admission. This exhibition will have a virtual line to enable physical distancing in the exhibition and while waiting to enter. The Art Institute of Chicago is located at 111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago. Check its website www.artic.edu, for additional information on hours, COVID-19 updates. and calendar dates.

-Compiled by Kenny Adusah, Dave Hamilton, Suzanne Hanney, & Nina Rothschild

www.streetwise.org

5

Vendors Russ Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.

SPORTSWISE

Racial

injustice and the professional athlete

Patrick: Welcome to SportsWise, folks. Today, we discuss racial injustice and its connection to sports: specifically, to the professional athlete. These three gentleman on this page with me are chomping at the bit to get going…so, let’s do just that—Don? Don: The Kenosha killing by a police officer of Jacob Blake hurts my heart. We’re in tough times, people…but it’s a time that can help us in the future. I think to get us to where we need to be, these are, in fact, necessary times.

Understanding is where it’s at.

Look, what I saw in the video was a slave running from his owner. I heard: “I’m running away because I want to be free!”

Russ: I get that, Don. I definitely felt that was the case.

Don: The sports world is speaking out about and protesting racial injustice because 200 years of angst is rising, saying “Silent no more.”

Patrick: Yelling it.

Don: No, they’re not. Currently, we see calm. At the base of the understanding is for white men to real-

ize—especially white male officers—that those they are killing out here are a version of “King of the castle” as he is. Black, white, Asian, etc., a man is a man. Until this idea is embraced and understood, we’re going to continue to watch these incidents take place.

John: With the almost-always video recording, coupled with social media, we’re seeing it all. And this is something I think hurts the sports world’s characters: Because we see it all, I’ve come to believe that it’s hypocritical of many of the athletes to support so strongly the community that many of those killed come from. My reason for believing this is that I don’t see many athletes visiting the communities to see what’s going on. There’s a lot going on that’ll ease the ills going on in the neighborhoods. Education is key. There is a definite lack of education; also,

the nuclear family is no more.

Russ: John, let me get in here.

For me, the deafening silence of the brief, though powerful, message generated by the sports world spoke and speaks volumes about how big this all is. The kneeling, the slogans—all these things made its point, but pulling sports off the board was loud.

No basketballs pounding the hardwood, games cancelled, no baseballs cracking off bats, more games cancelled, no soccer balls ricocheting down the field, even more games cancelled—this is what the silence told.

Don: Wake up, America!

John: I believe folks need to understand that we live in the greatest country in the world.

We are not filled with bad people as we’re being told.

Russ: No more Jacob Blakes, no more George Floyds, no more Breanna Taylors…and the list goes on. No more pain! The significance of the

moment is cemented in history.

Don: Coronavirus is the least of our worries. Racial injustice is causing much more tension and harm than even this deadly situation in which we find ourselves.

John: Our country—and it is our country—has given us so much. Opportunities abound for everyone. Everyone.

Patrick: Fellas, as much as I— and I’m sure you all, too— want to listen to and learn from each of you, let’s bring it home. Final thoughts—Russ?

Russ: I support all athletes.

I support all black men and women. Let’s make America kind again.

John: The reason people are against this stand is because they want to get away from this stuff, especially with their athletes. Stay on the court.

Don: America, wake up!

Any comments or suggestions?

Email pedwards@streetwise.org

WHERE THE PROTESTS END, OUR WORK BEGINS. For nearly a century, we’ve been working to promote racial justice. Help us achieve it once and for all.

UntilJusticeJustIs.org

KATY PERRY IS LEARNING TO SMILE ONCE MORE

by Sarah Smith / The Big Issue Australia / courtesy of INSP.ngo

aty Perry has an uncanny knack for making you feel like she’s your best friend. “I want to know about you Sarah – Sarah, question: what have you been craving?” Only a handful of minutes into our interview Perry, who is almost full term in her first pregnancy when we speak, wants to know all about mine.

K

Eschewing the distant diva archetype in favor of gal-whomight-just-crash-your-Friday-night-Zoom-party (something she did in May to surprise fans for the launch of her single "Daisies"), Perry consistently finds connection beyond the kitsch.

It’s a skill that has cemented the singer as one of the biggest pop stars of our generation, and helped her maintain a fierce and loyal following of fans – the most hardcore of which are known as KatyCats – that have stuck thick, even when things have not gone to plan. Like, in the wake of her ill-fated “purposeful pop” reinvention of 2017.

No stranger to controversy, having been accused variously over the course of her career of cultural appropriation and reinvention fixation, Perry – born Katheryn Hudson to Pentecostal pastors, Mary and Keith – faced a loaded backlash upon the release of her last album, Witness. During that cycle, Perry told press that she was ready to reveal the real Katheryn Hudson and, with a fresh new pixie cut, went about promoting the more “conscious” version of Katy that had apparently been hiding away beneath the bubblegum aesthetic.

To do so, she launched a Big Brother-style live stream event called "Witness World Wide," where 49 million viewers

watched Perry eat, cook, sleep, do yoga and hold a therapy session in which she candidly discussed battles with depression, alcohol and her difficult childhood. But the world didn’t buy it, neither figuratively nor literally. Neither did the critics.

While Witness debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, it soon fell away, selling less than one million copies. More tellingly, though, the record’s singles "Chained to the Rhythm," "Bon Appétit" and "Swish Swish" simply didn’t connect, none of them reaching No. 1 in the US. When you’ve achieved the kind of success that Perry did so early on in her career – equaling Michael Jackson’s record of five No. 1 singles off the one album for 2010’s game-changing Teenage Dream – it’s hard to maintain those dizzying heights.

But the soft response to Witness felt more personal. After a decade of adoration, the world had seemingly turned on Katy Perry.

“I think [back then] I was still getting really high off of my own supply,” Perry laughs when reflecting on the last album.

Speaking from her home in Los Angeles, which she shares with fiancé actor Orlando Bloom, the singer admits that the reality check was a long time coming – one that led to a period of intense self-reflection, and her new album Smile.

“I was really at the precipice of my own personal change when I was putting out Witness and I was, like, ‘Man, I don’t know if I can go on this trajectory anymore.’ I felt like I was stuck in this loop of sorts: write a record, go on tour, fans, audience, validation, celebrity, more, more, more!” she says, with both a hint of humor and despondency. www.streetwise.org

9

“I don’t really have that [desperation] anymore because my expectations weren’t 100 percent met last time and that was what kind of caused the shift in me. And it was a necessary shift…the time between Witness and Smile has pushed me to evolve into a more dimensional human being than just a thirsty pop star.”

But this personal evolution came at a price. In addition to temporarily splitting from Bloom in 2017, Perry slipped into a deep depression as she dealt with the reality of failure. “A lot of Smile is about growing through that pain. And now, obviously, I’m hopeful [about the new record], but I think I’m not putting everything of my worth into this basket.”

10

Staying grounded when you’re one of the biggest pop stars in the world is easier said than done. The fact is, Perry has a new record to promote and that means talking to strangers, like me, for hours on end about every aspect of her life. At the time of our interview a quick Google of her name reveals hundreds of headlines speculating about Perry’s due date, her baby’s name, whether Jennifer Aniston is godmotherto-be. The idea, then, of having to maintain two versions of yourself – one private (Katheryn Hudson) and one public (Katy Perry) – makes sense as a kind of survival mechanism.

Although, these days, Perry says the two versions are closer than ever.

Perry attributes this shift from thirsty pop star to satiated singer to re-prioritizing what was important in her life, and also to the support of Bloom, whom she says is always there for a reality check.

“I think that they [Katheryn and Katy] are both now a little bit more grown up so they can hang out,” she muses. “I think, when I started singing at 9, and essentially started grooming my Katy Perry life, I was really trying to escape a reality I didn’t really love.”

“I have a great partner who is very real with me, and isn’t with me because he is a Katy Perry fan. Obviously we support each other, but he is interested in my spiritual, mental and sometimes physical evolution,” she laughs. “And that’s what we are to each other – we’re really real to each other. So that was very helpful. But this shake forced me to get grounded.”

That reality is one she has spoken about at length over her career. Perry was raised in an ultraconservative Evangelical family, who picketed rock concerts and didn’t allow popular music or literature in the household. Her first “conversion” of sorts came upon hearing a Queen song, age 15, at a friend’s house. But the specter of such an upbringing has

loomed large over her adult life, and while the world watched Perry evolve from Christian pop singer through countless versions of “Katy,” she has been undergoing her own personal processing.

“Not to be dark, or anything,” she continues, “but that’s why you see a lot of artists that don’t live to be Grandma and Grandpa. Like, they have unfortunate endings a lot of them, because eventually the pain that helped them start creating turns against them.

But if you don’t fucking deal with it – it’s not going to help you write the songs. It’s one of those things that I learned in the last two-and-a-half years: that I don’t have to stay in pain to be what I feel is a valid contributing artist.”

Perry is a notoriously hard worker in an industry that is insatiably demanding, especially for women. Ever since Madonna vogued from Modern Marilyn on "Material Girl" to Saucy Lapsed Catholic on "Like a Prayer," the expectations on female pop stars to constantly reinvent themselves has become normalized. Album cycles blur into one another, as world tours and media blitzes stretch out over years. The pressures of this lifestyle were captured on Perry’s 2012 documentary "Part of Me" – one of its most memorable scenes sees her pre-show crying uncontrollably, quite literally up until the very second she is spat up onto the stage via a scissor lift, beaming beatifically at her screaming fans.

"[I'VE EVOLVED] INTO A MORE DIMENSIONAL HUMAN BEING THAN JUST A THIRSTY POP STAR."

The emotional link between this moment, and the cover art for Smile is a tempting one: dressed as a clown – replete with red nose – Perry is slumped forward, head resting on her hands, staring glumly at her fans. Katy Perry is the archetypal Sad Clown.

But the image, she says, is more hopeful than that.

“I think that this journey is about getting my smile back and getting my playfulness back and getting that purity back,” she says. “A smile

is an incredible physical indicator of your wellbeing and you can read someone by the way they smile… [With the cover] I’m not going to shove happiness down anyone’s throat.

It’s more of hopefulness – it’s very melancholy, but I’m very aware of the seriousness of your mental wellbeing and how you have to look after it. I can’t visit fantasy land as much as I could in my 20s, because the longer you live the more real life gets.”

And Smile is a hopeful album. The early singles – "Never Really Over," "Smile" and even "Harleys in Hawaii" – recall, both musically and in their simple themes of gratitude and triumphing over adversity, her most ubiquitous hits like "Roar" and "Firework." It’s territory that’s always been kind to Perry, and in that sense it’s both a return to something familiar and an attempt at realizing a more evolved version of herself.

While there is kitsch and playfulness aplenty in the imagery and film clips, there are no songs about cunnilingus or Taylor Swift. It’s a nod to the past, and a step towards the future.

While Perry is adamant she is no longer thirsty for validation, she is human, and still seeks an authentic confirmation of her decisions. Although, these days, the singer tells me that acknowledgement is coming from all the right places.

“When fans write me letters and tell me what these songs mean to them or how they help in whatever circumstances – fuck a number one. Who cares! It’s about that – it’s about changing a life, not hitting a number and that’s become really real to me and that’s how I measure my success. I measure my own success on my own happiness and the resonation of the songs with the listeners.”

Photos: Pages 8 & 9 by Liza Voloshin. Page 10 courtesy of EMI records. Page 11 by Rony Alwin.

www.streetwise.org

11

Activist recalls life as gangbanger in cabrini-green in new book

by Octavio Cuesta De la Rosa

Not much is left of the Cabrini-Green public housing development, and even less of the gangbangers that ruled their hallways years ago.

The high rises have long since been torn down, replaced by schools, sports fields and upscale modern condos. Yet the very name “CabriniGreen” still holds a powerful place in Chicago’s vernacular with an unparalleled notoriety. Pete Keller was a part of it, and in his newest book, “Cabrini-Green: The Pete Keller Chronicles,” Keller takes the reader on an unvarnished journey through the structures of drugs, violence, love and loyalty of the 1980s.

FROM THE STREETS

A closer-than-usual brush with death in the winter of 2005 forced the then 35-year-old gangbanger to dedicate his life to grassroots organizations that could change his community for the better. For 15 years Keller has been a pillar of his community, reporting for Voices of Cabrini, negotiating the project’s inevitable demolition and organizing with United League One Nation to help former gang members leave and find a new life. As the neighborhood steadily gentrified and its former gangbangers took their tales to the grave, Keller knew he had to immortalize the true stories of Cabrini-Green before it was too late.

12

Attracted to the lawlessness and impulsiveness of CabriniGreen, a young Keller found an ironically structured and loving community in the ranks of the Gangster Disciples that ruled the projects. Structures of loyalty and love for their fellow Disciples, and of respect for rival territories and colors, provided Keller with the after-school direction he sought.

Keller soon began selling “Blue Velvet” for the Disciples in the gang-regulated hallways. People of all walks of life came to buy the drug to fight the pain and despair of their daily lives. The gang members sold for the ray of hope the money gave them, not knowing they were trapped in a vicious cycle.

Having perpetuated the cycle, and then broken free from it, Keller leaves the youth of today two valuable lessons. The first is the need for structure in life. The second is the need for love in life. Both are key reasons why he joined the Gangster Disciples. On a single day when he was 6 years old, he learned that he was adopted and that his parents were getting a divorce. He moved all over – Hyde Park, Oak Park, Lakeview, Englewood – with his mother, and snuck out of his second story window at night.

Finding a structure of codes and loyalties as an after-school gangbanger allowed Keller to have a semblance of order and belonging, within a hierarchy that rewarded him with money

Pete Keller with a stripmall production film crew and supporters of his book (Ted Weissberg photo).

The book cover (inset).

and clout. Love figured in the form of close friends and fellow gangbangers who shared the same streets and values of honor and loyalty.

Keller warns us, however, that the love and structure that one finds in the “thug life” is a false love. This is because at the core of the structure is a drug trade that lures young gang members with money and the drugs themselves. In exchange for selling drugs and generating income for the gang, the structure of the organization recognizes and rewards the work of young gang members, creating a sensation of love and belonging through an exploitative structure, creating the false love that Keller recognizes.

Keller’s greatest lesson to the younger generation is to develop a structure for one’s life without these exploitations.

Today, Keller works with grassroots organizations such as United League One Nation and other big-brother associations to provide love, support and structure to at-risk youths.

His lesson is not limited to the youth of today either, as these same organizations are also there to help the parents of at-risk youths, such as single parents who are unable to provide the necessary structure and love a child needs while they’re away at work.

Octavio Cuesta De la Rosa is recent graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, where he majored in history and minored in French and urban planning. He volunteers with the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

Uptown's voice of the people partners with preservation of affordable housing

by Suzanne Hanney

Voice of the People in Uptown will preserve almost 200 units of affordable housing through a new partnership with the national non-profit Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH).

“Quality property management, tenant services, and long-term affordability is what our organization is about,” Voice President Maurice Hamp said July 29 in prepared material on its website. In this new partnership, Boston-based POAH helps make it possible by leveraging its experience in financing and property management.

Mother and child at Lakeview Towers, 4550 N. Clarendon. Photography by Thom Clark. Graphic design by Christopher Rohrbeck.

POAH bought four properties in Uptown and one in Bridgeport from the Chicago Community Development Corporation (CCDC), a long-time affordable housing investor. The Voice/Uptown properties include: • Clifton Magnolia, 59 units at 4416-22 N. Clifton and 4416-26 N. Magnolia Ave. • Hazel Winthrop, 30 units at 4426 N. Magnolia, 852-54 W. Sunnyside Ave., 4813-15 N. Winthrop and 912-14 W. Montrose Ave. • Sunnyside Kenmore, 26 units at 847-49 W. Sunnyside and 4130 N. Kenmore Ave. • Uptown Preservation Association, 77 units at 4431 N. Clifton Ave., 900 W. Windsor Ave. and 927 W. Wilson Ave. POAH paid $2.4 million for the properties and assumed about $6.6 million of first mortgage debt and $27 million of public debt issued through the City and Illinois Housing Development Authority, according to a story in Crain’s carried on the POAH website. The buildings include 109 Section 8 units, for which the federal government has continued to pay rents during the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent layoffs.

In Bridgeport, POAH acquired the 55-unit Archer Avenue Senior Residences at 2928 S. Archer Ave. Officials at the 50-year-old Voice say they found a successor-partner with a shared sense of priorities in POAH. Voice supports POAH in financing and property management, while connecting tenants to resources, programs, and opportunities. While Voice has strong connections with Chicago housing and service providers, the partnership with POAH opens up a national network of successful developments and learning opportunities.

“POAH is delighted to partner with Voice to preserve this housing as affordable for the long term in the face of rapidly rising rents and dwindling opportunities,” said Bill Eager, POAH’s Senior VP in the Midwest. “Voice’s roots in the community and experience with the residents, combined with our ownership and property management approach,

make for a great team. Hopefully, we can build on this partnership to preserve additional affordable assets in the years to come.”

This year’s campaign at Voice is called “Sweet Home Upt ow n ,” “where we look back at a storied history, but also forward to how we can continue to sustain affordable housing and economic diversity,” said Mike Rohrbeck, Voice executive director. “This new partnership models what needs to happen more broadly in our community and throughout the city.”

In the past year, Voice had restructured programs, financed improvements and completed energy upgrades to the three properties in the Uptown Preservation Project, with financing and support of the Community Investment Corporation (CIC). The strategy was part of a planned transition of properties control from CCDC to a “new partner of national prominence,” according to its website.

“I’m pleased that this new partnership will continue to assure Voice’s historic role in the preservation of affordable housing and advocacy for low income families in the Uptown community for the next 50 years” stated Tony Fusco of CCDC. “In these difficult times, their ‘VOICE’ is needed now more than ever.”

During his tenure, Fusco and CCDC made possible the preservation of thousands of units of affordable housing in Chicago and Illinois, including, with Voice’s help, the 500unit, resident-controlled Lakeview Towers development in Uptown.

POAH entered Chicago in 2008 with an acquisition in Woodlawn. The Uptown properties are its first on the north lakefront, and its Chicago portfolio now includes more than 2000 apartments in 10 Chicago neighborhoods such as Austin and Grand Boulevard, and suburban Harvey and Elgin.

www.streetwise.org

13

StreetWise announces the '20 most inspiring chicagoans' of 2020 StreetWise is proud to announce its 20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans of 2020.

Its third annual group of honorees includes Dr. Ngozi Ezike, comedian Chris Redd, the Dreadhead Cowboy, and famous folk singer Ella Jenkins, and an inspiring group of Chicagoans who are making the city a better place to live, work, and grow. StreetWise is a street paper and impact organization that empowers people to work with dignity, while giving the homeless and at-risk populations a hand up.

Tonika Johnson, social justice artist and photographer and

“Honoring the everyday heroes among us, who are making our amazing city even stronger, is so important, especially during these challenging and unprecedented times.” says Julie Youngquist, StreetWise executive director. “We received hundreds of nominations that show what we all already know-- Chicagoans put to work the generosity of our hearts and minds. Our 20 honorees of 2020 represent a wide variety of courageous people who selflessly work on behalf of others and represent the philanthropic spirit of the city.”

Chris Redd, actor, writer, stand-up comic and rapper and

This year’s 20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans are:

LaSaia Wade, founder and executive director of Brave

INSIDE STREETWISE

Aleta Clark, founder of Hugs No Slugs Foundation

14

co-founder of Resident Association of Greater Englewood (R.A.G.E.)

Kristi Katz, Chicago director of Field Operations with Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen

Diane Latiker, founder of Kids Off The Block, Inc. Ed Marszewski, restaurateur, entrepreneur, cultural connoisseur, and unofficial Mayor of Bridgeport and Director of the Public Media Institute (PMI)

Lamell McMorris, founder and managing principal of Greenlining Realty USA

Julian Posada, founder and president of LiftUp enterprises Dr. Izabel Olson, founder and CEO of Salt and Light Coalition

EMMY-award winning songwriter

Oboi Reed, founding president & CEO of Equiticity Britney Robbins, founder The Gray Matter Experience Jesse Teverbaugh, director of student and alumni relations at Cara Chicago Space Alliance

You can also meet them throughout the month as we release

Bryan Cressey, founder of Above and Beyond Recovery individual profile videos on our digital and social media platCenter

forms weekdays through September 30.

David Dietz, Social Responsibility Program Director at Na-

“The 20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans Award celebrates those who champion and empower our neighbors each day, many of whom are disenfranchised and without hope,” says Youngquist. “We found true catalysts for change during this process, much like StreetWise Magazine has been a catalyst for change for more 28 years. We look forward to recognizing these individuals at our virtual StreetWise Gala Celebration and appreciate the positive difference they are making in our city and surrounding communities.”

tional Basketball Association

Seth El-Jamal, program director for the Chicago chapter of Friends of the Children

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, board certified internist and pediatrician and Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health

Matthew Hoffman, Chicago-based artist & designer Adam Hollingsworth, Dreadhead Cowboy Ella Jenkins, “First Lady of Children’s Music" and GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award winner

Follow us on social media to keep up to date! www.facebook.com/StreetWiseChicago www.twitter.com/StreetWise_CHI www.instagram.com/StreetWise_CHI

Streetwise 8/3/20 Crossword To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

Sudoku

©2020 PuzzleJunction.com

2 Thespian on the move 8 Query 9 Okay to eat 0 See socially 1 Casual attire 2 Neuter 3 Footfall

10 Countries of 36 Appear to be Asia 38 Three, in 11 Methane and Toscana butane 40 Authentic 13 Russian 42 Legal action fighter 44 Quiche, e.g.

14 Quickly, in 46 Your (Fr.) memos 47 Reiterate 17 Scarlet 48 Pass by wn 21 Grunge 50 Paltry 1 Prattle 22 Average 53 Bench wear 2 Totally 23 Dill seed 55 ___-Magnon 3 Old French 24 Exchange of 56 Football gains coin views 58 Boys 4 Annoy 26 Dinghy 60 Shoshonean 5 Secret cliques propeller 63 Shred 6 Eyeball, for 27 Pesky insect 64 Hoops group one 31 Freudian inits.

7 ___ Bravo topics 65 Thick flat pad 8 Diarist Frank 34 Heavy 66 Summer on Copyright ©2020 PuzzleJunction.com 9 Offered by a overcoat the Seine con man 35 Wing 67 Agent (Abbr.)

Copyright ©2020 PuzzleJunction.com

©PuzzleJunction.com

Solution Puzzle Answers last week's

Solution

Solution

Find your nearest StreetWise Vendor at www.streetwise.org

Crossword

Across 1 Arizona river 5 Droops 9 Befuddle 14 Cupid, to the Greeks 15 Sheltered, at sea 16 Reef material 17 Tennessee city 19 Fine fiddle 20 Aardvark’s morsel 21 ___ de France 22 Curtain holder 24 UN agency 25 British biscuit 27 Tiny flower 29 Big cat 32 Primitive weapon 34 Slacker ©2020 PuzzleJunction.com 35 Prospector’s need 69 Craze 11 Certain 36 Bar bill 70 Assist, in a accent 39 Honey maker way 12 Carpenter’s 40 Decelerates 71 Against machine 42 Lad 72 Coasters 13 Four 44 Beak 73 Overlook Quartets 46 Debtor’s note 74 Convene poet 47 Sedate 18 Parish priest 49 Talipot palms Down 23 Roasters 51 Drink makers 1 Actress 25 Petition 52 Musical Rowlands 26 Marry passage 2 Persia, now 28 Crumb 55 All 3 Bewildered 29 Triangular 57 Pa. neighbor 4 Fire remnant sail 58 Venomous 5 Jack-tar 30 Gulf port snake 6 Kind of 31 Delight 60 Choler wrench 33 Feline foot 61 Broke bread 7 Hair goo 37 Fr. holy man 64 Squirrel’s 8 Merlin, e.g.

38 Orange Free stash 9 Maine’s State settler 66 Legendary National Park 40 Military English outlaw 10 Actor Deluise installations

41 Mauna ___ 43 Calendar spans (Abbr.)

45 Slough 47 Femme fatale 48 Moron starter 50 Climbing vines 51 Deserves 52 Monroe’s successor 53 Stick-on 54 Deserted 56 Feelings 59 Baby buggy 61 First-class 62 Carryall 63 Rework a paper 65 Purge 67 Japanese sash 68 Prosciutto

How StreetWise Works

Our Mission

Orientation Participants complete a monthlong orientation, focusing on customer service skills, financial literacy and time management to become a badged vendor.

Financial Literacy Vendors buy StreetWise for $0.90, and sell it for $2. The profit of $1.10 goes directly to the licensed vendor for them to earn a living.

Supportive Services StreetWise provides referrals, advocacy and other support to assist participants in meeting their basic needs and getting out of crisis.

S.T.E.P. Program StreetWise’s S.T.E.P. Program provides job readiness training and ongoing direct service support to ensure participants’ success in entering the traditional workforce.

THE PLAYGROUND

To empower the entrepreneurial spirit through the dignity of self-employment by providing Chicagoans facing homelessness with a combination of supportive social services, workforce development resources and immediate access to gainful employment.

PuzzleJun

Soluti

15

50% O

PREV

FF

I E WS APR with c 2 - APR 12 ode ST

REET

WISE

THE CHICAGO PREMIERE

THE MOST SPECTACULARLY LAMENTABLE TRIAL OF

MIZ MARTHA WASHINGTON James Ijames Directed by Whitney White By

The recently widowed “Mother of America”—attended to by the very enslaved people who will be free the moment she dies—takes us deep into the ugly and thorny ramifications of America’s original sin.

RADICALLY VULNERABLE, OUTRAGEOUSLY HILARIOUS

APRIL 2 – MAY 17 | steppenwolf.org | 312-335-1650 MAJOR PRODUCTION SPONSOR

2019/20 GRAND BENEFACTORS

2019/20 BENEFACTORS