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Milestones

POLICE AND CRIME Traffic Auto traffic has always been a problem in Lake View, but drug traffic went unnoticed until a heroin ring was uncovered by U.S. Customs agents. The lead defendant, James Valencia, a U.S. citizen living in Columbia, South America, allegedly heads a large drug organization that distributes multi-kilograms of heroin in many U.S. cities, including Chicago, New York, and Miami, according to a 147-page federal criminal complaint released on Oct. 30 by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Kelly Jones (also known as “Bone” and “Miguel”), 24, of the 1400 block of W. Warner Ave., and Martha LLanos (also known as “Matticia,” “La Mona,” and “Pie Malo”), 34, of the 6000 block of N. Sheridan Rd., are just two of 25 suspected offenders arrested in “Operation Smackdown.” At the same time that 19 of the 25 alleged offenders were arrested, local police and federal agents executed search warrants at 3827 N. Lincoln Ave., 1433 W. Warner Ave., and five other locations in Chicago, seizing three kilos of heroin, more than $90,000 in cash, several guns, and 10 vehicles. According to the complaint affidavit, at Valencia’s direction, high-level members, including Valencia, Jones, Jiron, and Roldan, used telephones to coordinate the drug deliveries and payments. They sent drug couriers from Chicago to other cities to meet and exchange payment for product with members of their organization and returned, usually by car or bus, with the heroin. 19th district burglary boom Not that burglaries don’t happen in other parts of the city, but the gentrification of the north side has brought an unprecedented number of burglaries. Residents may feel that it is a police problem but the problem begins with residents who do not lock windows and doors of their homes, or who keep cell phones and laptops in plain sight inside parked cars. Homeless problems in Area Three What began as a 19th District CAPS police issue concerning the problem of homeless people panhandling and cooking or living in parks, turned into concern for the plight of the homeless. Area Three Police Districts of 19, 20, and 23 are meeting to help rather than prosecute the homeless. The Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce is setting up a bank fund from which donations will be distributed to local support agencies that serve food or offer shelter to the homeless. Last month a University of Illinois report, “Facing Homelessness: A Study of Homelessness in Chicago and Suburbs,” found that many homeless persons have jobs but can not afford housing. Forty-seven percent of the interviewees stated they became homeless after being in prison, in hospital, or in a mental facility. The growing number of homeless, including families, can also be attributed to the slow economy. Digital date book The Chicago Crime Commission asked for donations to digitize their 83-year-old criminal files. The total number of paper reports, memos and publications by the Crime Commission officers, staff, and investigators that the commission has is estimated to be over one million. The files include newspaper articles from defunct newspapers. Some of these files are deteriorating and they will be digitized in the first phase. The new digitization will greatly help researchers, journalists, scholars, and law enforcement agencies to form a clearer picture of crime and public corruption dating back to 1919. New station Wednesday, Dec. 18, was the final roll call at the of Foster Ave. 20th district police station. The next roll call was at the new station at Lincoln and Catalpa avenues. Cubs Ongoing conflicts For two years residents and baseball goers have been involved in a guerrilla war. Neighborhood organizations, the Cubs organization, the rooftop bar owners, and the city have all launched salvos at each other, seriously injuring causes on all sides. Intrigue, Chicago style, could be seen in the take-over of the East Lake View Neighbors and attempted coup d’état of the Hawthorn Neighbors Association last year, acts as brazen as this newspaper has seen in 20 years. The Cubs want to expand the historic Wrigley Field and neighborhood groups want assurances that increased traffic controls and amenities will be in place and complain they are inadequate now. Rooftop bar owners are being sued by the Cubs for stealing their product, and the city has stopped delaying the landmark procedure for Wrigley Field, which Mayor Richard J. Daley assures does not prohibit modifications to the building... just take a look at Soldier Field to see what is possible. Add to this quagmire the resignation for health reasons of Ald. Bernie Hansen (44th) and you have a very unpalatable stew. How long everyone can stand the heat remains unknown, but it seems, as Inside has pointed out, it is time for the parties to sit down, respect each other’s position, and “play ball.” Library news Any books left? The Chicago Public Library continues to shift away from books to the Internet with net losses in personnel and service, especially for patrons interested in serious research. The Internet seemed to hail a new market and a new beginning for everything, but last year the Internet was reassessed and stocks reevaluated in terms of what the Internet can and can not do. The day for reevaluating the CPL policy of an Internet library cannot be far off. Branches and budgets New branches are being built, as some allege, to increase property values but not to lend books. The new facilities are not stocked with new personnel either. Book prices are up but, the budget is down to $2.5 million from $4.5 million in 1995 and questions about what is purchased go unanswered. Union woes Seasoned personnel are shifted to the branches against the union contract, forcing senior staff into lower positions with the consequential pay and pension decreases. Personnel who oppose these policies are the first to be transferred, oftentimes to areas that are a hardship for them to commute to every day. Many of these professionals have taken their leave of the whole system. Leah Steele fought hard to keep Sulzer Library, 4455 N. Lincoln Ave., a viable book institution but was forced to either take a new job she felt she had no experience at or retire. Steele retired, leaving a hole in the community and empty shelves in Sulzer caused by pernicious weeding of books. FOI requests still denied For the second year in a row, the CPL denied a request for a report under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) on the physical condition of Sulzer Library . The request was addressed to the Executive Director of and Secretary of the Board of Commissioners, and Public Buildings Commissioner Eileen J. Carey. The denial letter said the request “regarding the feasibility of repairs and/or expansion of the Conrad Sulzer Library is in draft form and therefore exempt from disclosure under the Act.” This is the same reason given for denial ofInside’s first FOI request. LPPA forms Last month saw the first meeting of the Librarians & Patrons Public Alert (LPPA) to protest CPL policies by organizing teach-ins, signing petitions, picketing, and organizing patrons, Local School Councils, teachers and professors. Hospitals 2002 saw many neighborhood health institutions fold up and die from the relenting pressure of market values on health care. Columbus After years of heated battle, Columbus Hospital was closed, was sold, and will be resurrected as something else...condos. Some citizens felt INVSCO’s development plan for the site was too dense, others wanted the jumbo size because businesses in the area need the patrons. Finally, Ald. Vi Daley (43rd), the Chicago Department of Planning, the developer, and citizen groups compromised. Three hundred and twenty-five units will be built — down 28 per cent from the original 450 units. Edgewater Edgewater Hospital closed and proposals for residences are being considered after the property was downzoned to R-3 Residential. Grant Grant Hospital, 550 W. Webster Ave., was purchased by Merit Health Systems, a for-profit company. Merit is based in Denver, CO. Ravenswood Ravenswood Hospital Complex was purchased by Seay and Thomas in June. The new owners said they wanted to work with the community and keep viable businesses in place. Good relations need a foundation of good will that was drastically eroded by Advocate’s perceived intentions. Seay and Thomas seem to be off to a solid start. Northwestern Northwestern Memorial Hospital continues to expand. The side streets east of Michigan Ave are choked with construction vehicles demolishing the old Pasavant Hospital wing and adding more and taller buildings are to the campus. Lakeside The Lakeside Veterans Hospital decided to phase out inpatient care at their Huron St. facility. Veterans complained that they would have to travel farther to the Veterans West Side facility at Damen and Roosevelt avenues. Veterans Administration officials contend that the changes proposed will bring better care for veterans while being taxpayer friendly. Weiss Louis Weiss Memorial Hospital at 4646 Marine Dr., one of the University of Chicago Hospitals, sold 80 percent of its operation to Vanguard Health Systems, a for-profit hospital management company based in Nashville, TN. Children’s Children’s Memorial Hospital began constructing a $24 million addition to its research center. Kohl’s department stores donated $574,000 to the hospital, half of which will be used for the innovative interactive closed circuit TV facility. Preservation Proposals The North Side was beset by preservation proposals. The Armitage/Halsted is in its final stages. The proposed designation would affect 145 buildings roughly located on Halsted St. from Armitage Ave. to Webster St. and on Armitage Ave. from Halsted St. to Racine Ave. It is primarily a commercial district with some residential properties included. South East Lake View Neighbors proposed as a landmark district the area bounded by Halsted St. on the west, Lake Michigan on the east (with the exception of some high rise development east of Sheridan Rd.), Diversey Ave. on the south and Belmont Ave. on the north. Preservation Chicago, a private group promoting preservation of Chicago’s architecture, want to landmark the area bounded roughly by Carroll St. (between Kinzie St. and the Chicago River), Wabash Ave. on the east, Grand Ave. on the north and Franklin St. on the west. Nenety day wait Mayor Daley approved an ordinance that would halt destruction permits on contested buildings for 90 days to allow preservationists time to rally support. Scottish Rite The Scottish Rite property located between State and Dearborn streets and Delaware and Oak streets was voted not for sale by members of the Rite. They have also been fined by the city for not erecting, per city code, a wrought iron fence costing $75,000. Uptown Theater Tours and promotions of the Uptown Theater failed to keep the acting director Mark Zipperer in office. Paul Warshauer stepped up to be the new chairman. The theater needs extensive repair and a movement to purchase the theater has not gained momentum. Meanwhile, the city is looking for partners to purchase the Riviera Theater a block away, which continues to be a venue for productions. Politics Try an SSA Despite the fluctuating stock market, business in the Lake View area has remained robust. Ald. Bernie Hansen (44th) suggested that businesses in the Belmont Ave. Triangle create a SSA to clean up the neighborhood and contract out services that the city can no longer afford to provide. Currently, there are three SSAs east of Sheffield: Lake View Central, Halsted St. and Lake View East. Ald. Hansen suggested that Lake View area businesses form an SSA as a well. Upcoming elections Ald. Hansen did not seek another term citing health reasons. Hansen has been in office since 1983 and has had his hands full with Wrigley Field issues the last few years. Tom Tunney has been appointed interim Alderman until the Feb. 25 elections. Tunney won the support of Democratic regulars before the appointment. Kurt J. Eckhardt, Republican Committeeman of Chicago’s 48th Ward, has announced his candidacy for the Chicago City Council. The 42-year-old Eckhardt is a lifelong resident of Edgewater, and has been Committeeman since 1999. Currently Eckhardt also serves on the Board of Directors of the Cook County Republican Central Committee. His first strategy, if elected, would be to refuse the new Aldermanic pay raise and give half of his salary to charity until the Chicago Fire Fighters get a contract. Manny Flores announced on Nov. 12 that he will challenge Ald. Jesse Granato (1st). Flores accuses Granato of lining his pockets at the expense of taxpayers, referring to the pay raise the City Council passed last month. Flores also pledges no new taxes for his neighbors. CAN-TV Following protests by hundreds of Chicago residents and multiple hearings before the City of Chicago Committee on Finance, CAN TV’s eight-month-long dispute with RCN is near resolution. On Sept. 3, CAN TV received $645,000 plus interest due since Jan. 7 for Cable Areas Two, Three and Four. The payment arrived one day before the Chicago City Council was expected to pass a resolution calling for daily penalties of RCN in the amount of $750 per franchise violation per area. When told of CAN TV’s payment, resolution sponsor Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) withheld the resolution. Land use The Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD) acquired a vacant lot in Roscoe Village, converting it into a neighborhood park. The small, triangular property is near the intersection of Addison St. and Lincoln Ave., at 3538-50 N. Lincoln Ave. CorLands bought the property for $650,000 in late July with financing from LaSalle Bank, N.A. DPD has purchased the land from CorLands for the same amount and will invest up to $113,000 for environmental remediation. Puppies and dogs After 19 months of surveying the public on how they use the beach, compiling over 3,200 signatures of support, and participating in dozens of meetings with the residents and elected officials, MonDog, a community group, had its plan approved by the Chicago Park District for the city’s first dog friendly beach pilot program at Wilson Ave., 4600 N. Lake Shore Dr. A fence is up at the far north end of Montrose beach near the old Wilson Boat Ramp. It is a pilot program in response to complaints that dogs roam free on North Side beaches. Dog owners have been pleading with the city to designate a specific area for them to use. Dog owners and their pets would use the designated area and stay off the other beaches. Another proposed dog friendly area, Ravenswoof Park, a section of Winnemac Park adjacent to Amundsen High School, is still being fought over by pro and con people. Zoning The Central Area Plan, part of the city’s effort to reform zoning codes, called for major innovations in transportation, including a new West Loop transportation center situated below Clinton St., which would link the downtown busway, subway, and rail lines. The transportation center should also accommodate commuters en route to O’Hare Airport via the CTA Blue Line. The largest artists’ community in the central area, Tree Studios at State and Ohio streets, is being redeveloped as a shopping mall. Rails The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is spending $500 million to widen the Brown Line platforms to accommodate trains of eight cars instead of six to meet rising demand and to make all stations handicap accessible in compliance with federal law. 2002 saw the project pass the 60 percent design phase, which means engineers have cut a rough design and are molding it into a detailed final plan, and is arriving at the 90 per cent stage in January. A project this major does not arrive without major problems. Citizens met throughout the year to give advice as well as catcalls. Some people with property abutting or under the elevated tracks have been receiving letters warning of land seizure since last September. Then nothing happens and owners don’t know the status of their property, which is very unsettling. To allay fears, the CTA has put up a new Brown Line Web site. Visit www.transitchicago.com and follow the Brown Line Expansion project links. The Web site does not give the particulars about what exactly will be done because the plans have not been finalized. People in the area must participate by attending the Design Community Meetings. Some expansions will change the nature of the neighborhoods so there will be more heated exchanges, for instance, at Fullerton where the Hayes-Healy building may be torn down as well as at Addison where the Tiny Lounge’s future hangs in the balance. Schools North Side Catholic school changes The Archdiocese of Chicago undertook a revitalization plan which brought a number of changes to the North Side. One school opened, two others merged, and two more closed. A new elementary school was established at Immaculate Conception Parish, 1413 N. North Park Ave., on the Near North Side, to serve a diverse neighborhood. It opened this fall with pre-school and kindergarten for the children of the parish and nearby St. Joseph parish as well. An existing building that once served as the Immaculate Conception parish school provides space for 25 five-year-old kindergarten pupils. A new building can house four pre-school classes of 25 three- and four-year-olds each. The school plans to phase in a new grade each year until it eventually serves students through eighth grade. The new school will adopt the Archdiocese’s Tuition Covenant, a two-step program that bases elementary school tuition on the actual cost of educating each pupil—and provides financial assistance in a confidential manner to families who cannot afford tuition. Meanwhile, the consolidation of St. Matthias School, 4910 N. Claremont Ave., and Transfiguration of Our Lord School, 5044 N. Rockwell St., resulted in the creation of one new institution on two campuses on the North Side. The new school will also adopt the Archdiocese’s Tuition Covenant. Closed on the North Side are St. Joseph School, 1065 N. Orleans St., and Holy Innocents School, 1448 W. Superior St. For more information about the Immaculate Conception School, call Rev. Pat Lee, (312) 944-1230. For more information about St. Matthias/ Transfiguration of Our Lord School, call Rev. Terence Keehan, (773) 561-6020. Loyola’s downtown campus expands Loyola University announced plans to develop a 24,864 sq. ft. site at the Water Tower Campus. Loyola will retain about 40,000 sq. ft. of space in the new building for academic use, while offering developers an opportunity to propose plans for the remaining space. The new building will be on Loyola’s properties at 41 and 47 E. Pearson St. The existing buildings will be razed to make way for the new development. The project is the first phase of an overall master plan for Loyola’s Water Tower Campus. DePaul opens $25 M Student Center DePaul’s new 145,000 sq. ft. Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., offers everything from “grab-and-go” fast food to formal cooked-to-order Euro-style cuisine, Krispy Kreme donuts to vegan vegetarian delights, stir fry to French fries. Nearly 300 data ports and electrical outlets are also scattered throughout the facility for public use for those who prefer a date with data when they dine. Think of the Mighty Nice food court concept in Watertower Place Mall, add entertainment, web surfing, business services and study options, and then you’re close to understanding what is now located on DePaul’s campus. This sleek brick and steel center also holds the finest banquet space available north of the Loop. Weddings, parties, meetings and other events for up to 600 are no longer a problem, especially as DePaul also offers so much new off-street parking close by and easy access to public transportation. The three-story building features the multi-station cafeteria with food service available until 1 a.m., a cyber-coffee bar called Brownstones with 20 computer work stations and data ports, a new retail store selling DePaul clothing and merchandise, pool tables, video arcade, TVs everywhere, a stage and movie screen, a cultural center, chapel, student affairs offices and much more. The Stuart Center, 2311 N. Clifton Ave., was the site of DePaul’s old cafeteria and served as the de facto student center, housing many student organizations prior to the new facility opening. It is now slated to be replaced by a new chemistry building within a few years. More kids at St. Clement’s St. Clement School, 2524 N. Orchard St., is constructing a 14,300 square foot addition, creating the space to add 100 more students. The addition, to be built over the school’s existing parking lot, will include classrooms, faculty space, administrative offices, and a rooftop playground. Construction is expected to be completed in August 2003 for the start of the fall semester. Established in 1906, St. Clement School is part of St. Clement Church in Lincoln Park, and it serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grades. The current enrollment of 300 will be increased to 400 by adding new students in all grade levels over the next several years. For more information, call St. Clement School at (773) 348-8212. St. Teresa Parish Center Bishop Edwin Conway in February dedicated a new parish center at 1950 N. Kenmore Ave., which sponsors social outreach programs and hosts neighborhood gatherings. The single-story handicapped accessible building includes a large meeting hall, three smaller meeting rooms, a kitchen, restrooms and storage space. St. Theresa’s parishioners raised the more than $1 million necessary to build the new center. St. Teresa of Avila Church serves more than 700 families and offers services in both English and Spanish. It has a four-classroom school for children ages three to seven, called the Cardinal Bernadin Early Childhood Center. Milestones Insight tutoring marks 15 years In celebration of the program’s 15th anniversary, the St. Joseph Insight tutors held their annual fall fundraiser on Nov. 14, at Joe’s, 940 W. Weed St. Proceeds from the fundraiser were used to underwrite the cost of the Insight program, which pairs children from the Near North Side with young professionals living and working in Chicago. Tutoring sessions involving more than 100 young students are continuing this year despite the fact that St. Joseph School, the school where the program was founded, closed this past June. “For the past 15 years, the Insight program has brought young adults from throughout Chicago together with inner city children of all faiths to assist in scholastic achievement, interpersonal development and social growth,” said Sister Stephanie Schmidts, director of the Insight program. “It’s a wonderful testament to the strong bonds between the tutors and students that the program is once again running this year, even though the children are now coming from different schools.” For more information, please contact Sister Stephanie at (312) 787-3830 or write to Insight Fundraiser, 1107 N. Orleans St., Chicago, IL 60610. Gordon Tech High School 50th Anniversary Founded in 1952, Gordon Tech was established as a college preparatory high school for the education of young people in the art of technology within a Catholic environment. Faithful to its heritage, a Gordon Tech education provides a solid foundation in religious values, theoretical knowledge and applied skills in relation to the art of technology, enabling young people to face the rapidly changing and increasingly complex demands of society as life-long learners and as responsible and productive citizens in service of the common good. Expanding on this mission, Gordon Tech became co-ed in fall 2002. For more information on Gordon Tech, call (773) 539-3600 or visit www.gordontech.org. 90 years for Three Arts The illustrious Three Arts Club of Chicago celebrated its 90th year of nurturing and furthering the professional development of women in the arts. Founded in 1912 by civic leaders Gwethalyn Jones, Lolita Armour, Harriet McCormick, Minnie Maderu Fiske, and Jane Addams, the Three Arts Club of Chicago was chartered to provide a home and club for young women who engaged in the practice or study of the arts in the city of Chicago. These socially conscious Chicago women patterned the Three Arts Club of Chicago after existing clubs in London, Paris, New York and Philadelphia. The Chicago institution is the only one of these five original organizations still in existence. Today, the original “three arts” - painting, music and drama - have expanded to include architecture, design, photography, filmmaking, dance, and many other disciplines. The Three Arts Club facility also serves as a non-profit, urban-based cultural center that supports and mentors women artists across the world through its residential community. Residents of the Three Arts Club come from the United States and abroad to pursue careers in the arts, participate in special programs, study with private instructors or attend schools. In recent years, the Three Arts Club has expanded its mission to include a wide variety of public programming for the entire community, including the Salon Series, a program that brings together audiences with contemporary women artists; the Landmark Jazz Series; and The Gallery, a public gallery space dedicated to the exhibition of work by contemporary women artists and curators from the Chicago metropolitan region. Since its founding, over 15,000 women have resided at the Three Arts Club and over 40,000 people attend events there each year. For more information on the Three Arts Club, call (312) 944-6250. At 125, Sacred Heart Schools to expand At the 125th anniversary celebration of Sacred Heart Schools in Chicago, Sr. Susan Maxwell, the director of schools, announced Phase I of a major expansion and renovation of the 6250 N. Sheridan Rd. campus. The new three-story classroom structure will be built between the Campbell and Main Buildings and will house nine classrooms, two science labs, one computer lab, a new library and a rooftop play area. This phase will add 33,000 square feet of educational space. The Sacred Heart Schools are the city’s only independent Catholic single-sex elementary schools. The Schools—Academy of the Sacred Heart for girls and Hardey Prepatory for boys—enroll 500 students. When the project is complete, the Schools will be able to accommodate 600 students. Classes will be held to their current size of not more than 16 to 18 students, with two sections of girls and two sections of boys at each grade level and five sections of kindergarten. Tuition is about $10,000 per year. About 20 percent of the students receive financial assistance. About two thirds of the students are Catholic. The Schools were founded by Society of the Sacred Heart, which has 21 schools in the U. S. and over 200 worldwide, each run as a single-sex academy. Each Sacred Heart School shares a commitment to educate students to a personal and active faith in God, a deep respect for intellectual values, and a social awareness which impels to action. In addition, it promotes the building of community as a Christian value, and personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom. Symbols of each of these five goals were placed in a time capsule during the 125th anniversary assembly May 3, to be opened on the School’s 200th birthday. Obits Adinamis Funeral Home to become condos The zoning for 4700 N. Western Ave., the former Adinamis Funeral Home, was changed from B5-2 to a B5-3, which allows a larger or taller building and an increase from 16 to 24 residential units in the building. Pat O’Donnell and Gerald Heffernas, the developers, plan 24 condo units, two commercial spaces, and 51 parking spaces and 13 electric lifts. The building will be four stories high with setbacks to reduce the shade on Artesian Ave. Two of the residential units will be designated for life-long residents of the 47th Ward, such as teachers, firemen, social workers, or police officers. The plan also includes planting nine trees. The actual groundbreaking for the new building will not occur until April 2004. John D. Adinamis said he will be working with the Pfaff — Garner Funeral Home to handle the Greek Orthodox funerals and to keep the traditions of the community alive. “We moved all the icons, the candelabras, and the Byzantine crosses over to Dan’s location at 5001 N. Lincoln Ave.,” said Adinamis. “We have even kept our telephone number.” Adinamis Funeral home had been in business for 100 years. Pfaff-Garner is in its 88th year and with the new relationship will likely last a long time. Cooney’s, we’ll miss you Cooney’s Funeral Home closed in 2002. Both the funeral home at 3552 N. Southport Ave. and the parking lot across the street were sold, and the buyer intends to sell each separately for an undisclosed price estimated to be about $4 million. The Cooney family plans to reopen at a new site west of the original, in a less congested neighborhood. Parks Cowboys and gazebo Welles Park Cowboys became the citywide Junior Bears champions for the third time in history on Dec. 7, defeating the 2001 champs, the Wildwood Park Packers, by 48-0. Both North Side teams, consisting of 11- to 13-year-olds, trained and played since August to reach the Chicago Park District and Chicago Bears-sponsored Mum Bowl played this year at De LaSalle Institute, 3455 S. Wabash St., while Soldier Field remains under construction. Welles Park also saw the construction of a large performance gazebo, funded by $100,000 from the Old Town School and $130,000 from the city. Input on Clark Park Ald. Gene Schulter (47th) requests comments and suggestions from Roscoe Villagers about the 10 acres of land at Addison St. and the Chicago River that the city is acquiring for Clark Park. Schulter can be reached at (773) 348-8400 or by email at ward47@cityofchicago.org. Running track proposal An ongoing controversy is the construction of a running track, soccer field and related seating area in Lincoln Park. The area under consideration is north of the North Ave. drive connecting Lake Shore Dr. with LaSalle St., and west of the new Chicago Historical Society Parking facility. The project is to be funded equally by Chicago Latin School, which is located at North Ave. and Clark St., the Chicago Board of Education and the Park District. Opponents say that Latin School, which has limited athletic field availability, will monopolize the field and effectively foreclose usage by others. Belmont seawall renovation The clock is counting down on the Chicago Park District’s plan to renovate the Lake Michigan seawall between Belmont Ave. and Diversey Pkwy. In line with other seawall redevelopments along the lake shore, the city plans to demolish the 70-year-old limestone revetments that line that stretch of Lake Michigan, and replace them with modern concrete revetments. The Park District has submitted drawings for the Belmont seawall, and EMG, a concrete pouring company, is under contract for the work. The reconstruction design presented by the city consists of vertical steel sheet piles that would replace the damaged wood cribs, and 20-inch high concrete steps that would replace the jagged limestone that now covers the area. Two universal access ramps, which allow wheelchair access to the lakefront, will also be part of the design. Total construction may require two years, and will entail closing the lakefront walking paths. However, bicycle paths will remain open.