2 | TheGateNews November 2018
INSIDE THIS ISSUE SSA #10 rolls out a new security system for local businesses Domestice Violence and Breast Cancer awareness month Turkey Giving with Ashland Cold Storage and BYNC Writers, poets and artists come together for a unique event Residents of CPD’s 9th district share input for police reform Proposed ‘Public Charge’ rule change creates urgency A new atumn festival in Back of the Yards Back of the Yards Dia de los Muertos annual celebration
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Dependable Community Journalism Serving Back of the Yards, Little Village, Pilsen, Brighton Park, Archer Heights, Bridgeport, Stockyards, and West Englewood since 2010.
1823 West 47th Street Chicago, IL 60609 773-523-4416 www.thegatenewspaper.com
PUBLISHED BY
The Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council Craig Chico, BYNC President cchico@bync.org Edwin Garcia, BYNC Director of Finance egarcia@bync.org Gloria Talamantes, editor editor@thegatenewspaper.com
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SSA #10 rolls out a new security system for local businesses
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By Gloria Talamantes The Special Service Area (SSA) #10 along with its commissioners rolled out a new program for businesses within the SSA #10 & SSA #39 that is intended to improve Back of the Yards and Brighton Park businesses and make it safer for everyone. The new security monitoring system will give the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) real-time access to their compatible security monitoring systems. After a few meetings with the local 9th District Police Department, Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), Ald. Willie B. Cochran (20th) along with SSA #10 program manager and Back of the Yards Business Development Coordinator, Fabiola Flores, it was decided that the best option for better security measures for businesses in Back of the Yards was to offer a 100 percent rebate to all businesses within the SSA #10 who partake in the new security service program. Community Connect ™ is a program that will enable the OEMC to access their compatible business security monitoring systems in the event of a crime.
Since the security camera services are separate from what businesses may already have, she also expressed that it was imperative for the program to be cost effective for everyone. “We met with ADT, Comcast, and researched several companies with security camera services and they said they could potentially connect to the city department but that the business owners would be responsible for setting up the software that is needed to connect to the OEMC,” said Flores. “This would’ve been too complicated and costly for businesses. Eventually, we went with Genetec after learning that other vendors didn’t have all of the capabilities necessary for the program.” Genetec is a company whose expertise is in IP video surveillance. The company has been around since 1997 and they believe in helping businesses protect the everyday happenings of their customers as well as public safety. Currently, they work with various city agencies and other government entities. Local Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th)
said that the value of the program gives businesses the opportunity to improve the security of their establishment as well as help with the overall safety of the neighborhood. “It also connects that outside camera to OEMC and 911 so that if something should happen in the neighborhood, the police are able to pull up the video in real time to identify what’s going on, where the defenders are going and how to deal with the situation correctly,” he said. “We have a lot of first-generation and immigrant businesses and we want to make sure that they understand that this process is meant to help them, it’s not meant to be a hindrance or overly burdensome especially when it is a basically a free program to secure their properties.” The overall application process is also meant to be easy for business owners to understand and confidently apply. “Often times people get confused by overly complicated paperwork by a lot of the legal jargon and lawyerly things that are presented, so they choose to just avoid it all
completely,” said Lopez. “It’s our collective goal with the BYNC and myself to make sure that this is as streamlined as possible where it is easily readable in English or Spanish so that people can understand it in real terms and hopefully sign on and build the enthusiasm for this program.” Community Connect ™ is a program that will reimburse business owners through a 100 percent SSA #10 rebate. The plan would require businesses to install the minimum of one camera in front of the business with the potential to cover the costs of adding more cameras in the future and a fifteen dollar maintenance fee per month. A similar program is available to businesses within the SSA #39 in Brighton Park. To request an application or for more information about the Community Connect program contact Fabiola Flores at 773-5234416.
Domestic Violence and Breast Cancer awareness month By Gloria Talamantes
(Photo courtesy of Sabrina King)
October is Domestic Violence and Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in Back of the Yards residents came together to bring awareness, break stigmas and shed light about the disease and the violence. On Saturday, Oct. 26 the Sherman Park Advisory Council put together an event to bring awareness for Breast Cancer as well as Domestic Violence. Accompanying residents at the event were officers of the 9th district Chicago Police Department. The event took place at the Sherman Park Auditorium, 1301 W. 52nd St. Friends and families heard testimonials by guest speakers, enjoyed special performances, learned about nutrition and more. Attendees wore purple and pink to bring awareness to domestic violence and breast cancer in the Back of the Yards community. follow us @thegatenews | www.thegatenewspaper.com
4 | TheGateNews November 2018kyards . West Englewood
Turkey Giving with Ashland Cold Storage and BYNC
General Manager of Ashland Cold Storage, Luis Amaro with the Crisostomo family (The Gate/Patricia Flores)
Families enjoying hot chocolate, conchas and coffee during Turkey Giving. (The Gate/Gloria Talamantes)
By Gloria Talamantes On Thursday, Nov. 15 the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (BYNC) and Light in the Night (LIN) in partnerships with Ashland Cold Storage got together to donate 80 turkeys to families in Back of the Yards at BYNC’s community space located inside Royal Bank, 1823 W. 47th St. Ashland Cold Storage is a full-service public refrigerated warehouse that also offers local transportation solutions. The company hires more than 60 percent of their staff from neighborhoods surrounding Back of the Yards like Bridgeport, Canaryville and Englewood. General Manager, Louis Amaro says they hire within the community by partnering with organizations like BYNC. “There’s nothing
like knowing who we are working with and for and it’s good being able to see them in the community,” said Amaro. Every year Ashland Cold Storage support local neighborhood events and give back to the neighborhood when they can. “We firmly believe in doing things for the community whether it’s going to community events or giving back where we can,” said Amaro. “We are a local company, Ashland Cold Storage has been [here] since 62. We are a family-run company. There’s no shortage of being able to support the community somehow. Where we can, we do what we can.” The families were selected by their local school leaders and other participating
organizations with the means to give back to those who may be facing economic hardship during the holiday season. Participating schools and organizations included Chavez Elementary, Hamline Elementary, Hedges Elementary, San Miguel, Richards High School, Peace and Education-Sinclair Campus, Su Casa, The Port Ministries, and Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. Antonio Thompson, 12, said that an event like this reminds him about the good things that people do for others. “I like this because y’all are thinking about people and giving away turkeys and y’all are using y’all time to do all of this,” said
Thompson. It was also Thompson’s first time tasting a concha. “I never tried them, I thought they were like donuts, but it’s not. It was delicious though; it tastes a little bit like lemon powder on bread.” Throughout the evening parents and children trickled in, picked up their turkeys and took a family photo. Families met BYNC staff and got to know about some of the programs and services available within the neighborhood, while they drank and ate conchas and hot chocolate or coffee. For more information about BYNC’s giving and volunteering opportunities, email community@bync.org
Writers, poets and artists come together for a unique event By Ana Diaz On Friday, Nov. 11 The Port Ministries’ 3rd floor lit up with friendly faces for a night of art and storytelling. Writers, poets and artists gathered with community members for Everyone Has A Story — a first of its kind immersion of poetry and storytelling workshops during the unveiling of a mural that was reflective of a collection of stories written by youth in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Many of the stories which can be found on The Gate’s website. The night began with an introduction to the small chapbook that was printed in-house and an abstract mural created by artist Gloe and Gloria Valle. Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council’s Light in the Night program provided popcorn, tamales and Mexican pastry bread and the Back of the Yards Coffeehouse provided coffee for everyone in attendance. Later in the evening, a series of breakout sessions began. Poets Luis Carranza, Kee Stein, and Sammy Ortega of Line Break, a local collective of poets and creatives, led a poetry workshop with prompts of Hip Hop lyrics from songs by local Chicago artists. From this prompt, everyone wrote their
poem and those who were inclined to share, recited for the audience. After the poetry workshop, the audience was captivated by a special guest. Featured storyteller, Karen Clanton, shared a story about where she’s from. She shared that she is from, “A kitchen table surrounded by Mom, Dad and me where we would eat old school nutritionally complete meals, big on flavor and big on character,” and where her “vision of who I could become was launched,” An attentive crowd was all ears as she continued to share “of course you can become a lawyer, of course you can travel, of course you’re gonna have a house.” And all that stayed in Karen’s heart which is where home truly is. Ana Díaz and Ricky Muñoz of Toltecas Checagou asked the jam-packed group of attendees to pair up with someone they don’t know very well. Moments of kindness, first crushes, and unexpected instances of hope are stories that they all shared. The community was then asked to write directly on a wall that read - Wall of Hope. They ran over and wrote about their families, remembered people who had passed, and filled the space with love.
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Poets lead a workshop (The Gate/Angelica Cartagena)
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Residents of CPD’s 9th district share input for police reform
Students and Officer King of the CPD engage in conversation (The Gate/Izaac Guzman)
Roundtable talks with residents and officers of the 9th district CPD (The Gate/Izaac Guzman)
By Gloria Talamantes The Chicago Police Department (CPD) received community input and ideas for training Chicago Police Officers during a public community forum held at the Back of the Yards College Preparatory on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The CPD has been working on reform measures since last year when Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued the city to prevent excessive police force used on black and brown residents of Chicago. The consent decree is carrying out a detailed plan that must be followed between the city of Chicago and CPD. The public forum began with a few welcoming words by the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council President and CEO, Craig Chico who said that this was an
opportunity to get together and find common ground to work and better the community. “This is something that we should take seriously and take advantage of because it is an opportunity to make our city better,” said Chico. “This is the kind of place where we can create better relationships between the police and our community. It’s an opportunity for us to create better relationships for our students and their politicians and their police.” Student Kevin Rivera, 15, believes that a police reform has taken too long to happen and he would like to see something done to help end violence in the city. He attended the public forum to learn more about how the CPD works and find out the new ways in which police officers can interact with the public.
“Anything positive that I learn here, I am aiming to tell my peers,” said Rivera. Dallese Hunt, 15, wanted to know what CPD is looking to do for the students of the Back of the Yards community. “I feel like a lot of students outside of my school should participate because they’ll get more information on why certain things happen, such as shootings in this area,” said Hunt. “A lot of people can learn about what more the police can do. By being here they can get those questions answered.” The public forum broke out into four groups where residents and CPD officers talked about popular topics chosen by attendees upon entering the gymnasium. The topics were, crisis intervention and mental health, interaction with youth, and how to
approach citizens. These meetings are a part of the process that is meant to give anyone the opportunity to provide input on the proposed police reform. The agreement between the two parties should help reach a comprehensive reform of CPD’s practices and policies amongst other accountability measures that address the use of force and help build trust between Chicagoans and officers of the CPD. For more information about the consent decree and to view the community engagement report visit chicagopoliceconsentdecree.org/
Proposed ‘Public Charge’ rule change creates urgency By Gloria Talamantes On Sept. 22, the Trump Administration announced a proposed change to the “public charge” rule that would affect the low-income immigrant communities. Along with the proposed changes to the “Public Charge,” major budget cuts to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Navigator programs were also proposed. Typically, the term “Public Charge” is used in immigration law to refer to people who are primarily dependent on government services to meet their basic living needs. These changes will force low-income immigrants to choose between their health and their immigration status. A call to action press conference scheduled for Tues, Nov. 18. Furthermore, the Healthy Illinois campaign along with Alivio Medical Center was successful in pushing for a $2.5 million state budget allocation to effectively train healthcare navigators to conduct outreach for ACA enrollment and train the immigrant population about “Public Charge” rights. After five months the funding is yet to be released by the Secretary of State. The delay affects the way healthcare navigators conduct
outreach to educate the community most vulnerable to these changes. Before the “Public Charge” rule can be finalized the Trump Administration is required by law to respond to each unique personalized comment but the period for commenting closes the second week of December. The ACA open enrollment period also closes during this time. You can submit your comment at https:// protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/
(Photo Flickr Steve Rhodes)
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6 | TheGateNews November 2018Stockyards . West Englewood
A new autumn festival for Back of the Yards
BYNC Ballet Folklorico performs for the crowd (The Gate/Patricia Flores)
Back of the Yards families ride on Moby Dick (The Gate/Patricia Flores)
By Gloria Talamantes The crisp fall air didn’t stand in the way of fun Halloween activities for youth and families in Back of the Yards. From Thursday, Oct. 25 through Sunday, Oct. 28th Halloween activities and carnival rides brought neighborhood families and youth together to attend Back of the Yards October Fest. The festival is a new annual festival in Back of the Yards for everyone in the neighborhood. The event was organized by Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council (BYNC) with the support of Matanky Realty Group, Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), Light In the Night (LIN) and All Around Amusement. Many Back of the Yards residents recognized the carnival rides from the annual Fiesta Back of the Yards, a mainstay festival that takes place every summer. For 27 years Fiesta Back of the Yards is the only other festival in the neighborhood that has carnival rides for youth and families and takes place in the business corridor of 47th street on the west end of Ashland Ave. This year, October Fest gave youth and
families the opportunity to partake in carnival rides, pumpkin decorating, and movies at dusk one last time before the temperatures dropped. For youth like Yolanda Zuniga who grew up in Back of the Yards, the festival gave her an opportunity to do something fun locally. “I really enjoyed myself especially because it was on this side of Ashland, there are many kids on this side [of Ashland] that don’t get to go to the other side due to the gang boundaries even though they’re not even involved in gangs,” said Zuniga. Often the gang territorial divides, keep neighborhood youth from participating in a variety of community events. The after-school Photography teacher at Richards Career Academy, Vanessa Burciaga, said that it was nice to have something so accessible for the students to walk to in their neighborhood that would also be fun for them to attend and take pictures while being outdoors. “To find out that there was something right there in Bishop Plaza, I was like, ‘Oh my God we need to go because we don’t get
The Back of the Yards Chicago Public Library promotes literacy and creativity with a maker station (The Gate/Patricia Flores)
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opportunities like that to do anything that is different,” said Burciaga. “We are always walking around the neighborhood and photographing the same thing and trying to find different things that are changing, but a lot of the stuff is not changing so, for us to have a less than a 10-minute walk or less to get there, it was really something that we liked.” The festival was held at the parking lot of Bishop St. and 47th St. in Bishop Plaza, where businesses like Marshalls and Little Caesars serve the public and roughly four blocks away from Richards Career Academy. As a special incentive for attending October Fest, to support local businesses, Matanky Realty Group provided money back coupons that were passed out at the ticket booth during the carnival. The coupon prompted patrons to visit BYNC for five dollars back off of a 25 dollar purchase or more at the Marshalls, a retail store located in Bishop Plaza. With plenty of activities for everyone, the festival included free family-friendly activities that were sponsored by LIN, a
program operating out of BYNC, with the goal to build community cohesion around safe public spaces while also giving productive alternatives and access to services for all residents. Every night, LIN hosted children and families during “Spooky Movie Night.” Families received complimentary popcorn, candy bags and participated in pumpkin decorating activities throughout the four-day festival. BYNC’s award-winning, Ballet Folklorico provided a free cultural performance each night and the festival served as a platform to showcase the talents of their various dance groups choreography, most of which they’ve learned throughout the years. Festival organizers are expecting next year’s fest to begin a little earlier next October. For more information about the festival and to participate, you can contact the BYNC festival organizers at community@bync.org
Spooky movies bring in the crowd (The Gate/Patricia Flores)
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Back of the Yards Dia de los Muertos annual celebration
Procession is well underway (Photo courtesy Ricardo Cervantes)
Skeleton puppets ready for the procession (Photo Courtesy Ricardo Cervantes)
By Gloria Talamantes On Saturday, Oct. 20, neighborhood residents gathered at Lara Academy to kick off the annual Back of the Yards Day of the Dead procession on 46th St. and Wood Ave. As the procession made its way around the corner of 48 St. and Wood Ave, graupel fell and so did the temperature. Despite the cold and damp weather, the procession goers looked thrilled to be participating. Skulls, flowers, catrinas, skeleton puppets and vibrant colors decorated the mobile altars that families and neighborhood residents carried towards St. Michaels Community Center where everyone would meet later to celebrate with performances, food, and dancing. Amongst some of the performances were the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council’s (BYNC) Ballet Folklorico, Mariachi Tradición Juvenil, and Danza Xochitl Quetzal. Many adorned their face and wardrobe inspiring the looks of many catrinas and catrines. Some of the bikers who had a different map for the procession wore their Catrin and Catrina makeup. Upon arriving at St. Michaels on Winchester and 48th St, the same
motorcyclists were greeted with ceremonial blessings by Danza Xochitl Quetzal, a group of Aztec dancers comprised of members from various Latino neighborhoods in Chicago. Spiritual rituals like this are one of many ways in which the celebration draws on the indigenous roots of the Mexican holiday that honor and remember deceased loved ones. Committee members of the event like Claudia Alvidrez, believe in passing along the traditions and teachings of what Day of the Dead means to children and families in and around the neighborhood. “Throughout the years I have created free workshops with youth in the area to promote art and the history of Dia de Los Muertos,” said Alvidrez who also believes that it is important to create safe spaces inside school classrooms to share experiences about death and the way it impacts the community. “At first, it took some convincing but then, it just started growing naturally.” This year participating schools included Daley Elementary, Back of the Yards College Preparatory, Hamline Elementary, Seward Academy and both Peace and Education Coalition high school campuses. The event promotes culture, art and
Motorcyclists receive their blessings (Photo Courtesy Ricardo Cervantes)
unity in Back of the Yards. Everyone who participates come together to organize, create paper mache masks, build altars and other art-making activities. Years ago, Alvidrez was looking for someone to help block off the streets while pedestrians safely crossed intersections so, she reached out to her friend Jessie Iñiguez who would help fulfill that goal by having motorcyclists lead the procession and help block the streets. Iñiguez is the co-owner of Back of the Yards Coffeehouse and for the past five years, a committee member of the Back of the Yards Day of the Dead celebration. “It has now become, the largest Latino-led ride in the Midwest open to all clubs and rider groups, and non-club members. This year we had over 200 riders [and] passengers and [we are] expected to grow even larger next year with the addition of Illinois Harley Davidson as a sponsor,” said Iñiguez. The motorcycle procession became an opportunity for donations to help bring different ideas into fruition for the celebration and a mainstay tradition for the celebration. Many, like Back of the Yards resident, Hortencia Elias, look forward to the event
every year. “For those of us who are Mexican, we remember our tradition. I am from Michoacan. We celebrate by making altars and ofrendas that consist of offerings of things and foods that our deceased family members loved when they were alive,” said Elias. “Come and get motivated, this is the first time in my 45 years that I get painted. I asked myself, ‘If I don’t do it this year, when am I going to do it?’ Never in my life had I gotten dressed up for the tradition.” This year, the procession and celebration was organized by a committee of 10. The participation from everyone in the community and the art by various people in the community is what drives Alvidrez to continue working on the annual event. “It’s so inspiring to see people’s immense artwork walk up to the meeting area and as more people or groups gather the more colorful the dull autumn day looks,” says Alvidrez. “I love to see the pride each school and group displays as they roll their mobile altar or make their skeleton puppets dance.”
Decorated paper mache mask worn by children (Photo Courtesy Miguel Cambray)
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