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Upcoming
SLN Events
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Grills Night Out
Wed., Aug 8
Dearborn Park
Photo Contest
Sat., Aug. 27
Printers Row
Farmers Market
Public Meeting
on Planning & Development
Wed., Sept 16
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Our neighborhood businesses had a tough spring, and some then suffered a night of vandalism. On June 6, South Loop Neighbors volunteers surveyed all the area's restaurants and retailers to see who's back in operation. We've been trying to keep it updated since then, as an interactive map on our website.
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Grills Night Out
Date: August 8
Time: 7 pm
Location: Dearborn Park
9th & Plymouth Ct.
Bring your own meat (or veggies) and masks and join your neighbors for a midsummer's night of good food and good times,
with appropriate physical distancing
. South Loop Neighbors will provide the grills, drinks, chips, and dessert.
T
his is an all-neighborhood party! You do not need to be a member of South Loop Neighbors to attend the event. Tell your neighbors who may not get our newsletter
Photo Contest: "These Extraordinary Times"
Date: August 27
Location: South Loop Farmer's Market
This year's photo contest theme is "These Extraordinary Times." Start taking your photos now. All photo entries must be of the South Loop from the last three years. New this year, you can submit your entries either digitally and we can print and frame for you or in your own frame. All self framed entries are due by Wednesday, August 26. If submitting digitally, photos are due by Friday, August 21. An extra fee will apply to all digitally submitted photos, which will include the 8 x 10 printing and framing of your photo. All photos will be displayed at the South Loop Farmer's Market.
Entry Fee: (per photo submission)
$15 Nonmembers
$8 Members
$10 framing and printing cost (if submitting digitally)
Prizes:
1st Place: $100
2nd Place: $75
Public Meeting on Planning & Development
Date: Sept. 16
Time: 7 pm
Location: Zoom
The annual roundup of South Loop development, presented by Dennis McClendon, our Vice-President for Planning and Development. This is usually one of SLN's most attended meetings as residents learn about current and planned developments for our neighborhood. A Zoom invite will be sent out as we get closer to the date.
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601 S. Dearborn
Developer Keith Giles has been circulating renderings of a 14-story building to go on the parking lot across from the Transportation Building. The building would include 462 apartments, the majority of them studios, and a 5500 sq ft retail space at Harrison.
Only 25 parking spaces are part of the project; none are required since the site qualifies under the city's transit-oriented development ordinance.
The project certainly appears to comply with the Near South Community Plan, SLN's basic benchmark for suitability of new buildings. Still unclear is whether the Landmarks Commission would approve the building as designed, and whether the Transportation Building condo association must give permission to amend the 1981 Planned Development zoning that allowed residential conversion of that building by including (and obligating 75 spaces in) the parking lot across the street.
In Brief
Paving work continues on Dearborn Street. It's been rough and noisy for weeks, but will end with a smooth new surface, featuring a clearly marked green cycleway on one side and a red bus-only lane on the other (at least north of Ida B. Wells).
1000M construction is paused, at least through September. Though foundation work was largely completed over the winter, spring brought Covid-19 and new uncertainties about the market for such expensive condos
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Restore Illinois - Phase 4
At the time of publication of this digital newsletter, the entire State of Illinois is at Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan.
Phase 4 is defined as - Revitalization:
The rate of infection among those surveillance tested and the number of patients admitted to the hospital continues to decline. Gatherings of 50 people or fewer are allowed, restaurants and bars reopen, travel resumes, child care and schools reopen under guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health. Face coverings and social distancing are the norm.
Until COVID-19 is defeated, this plan also recognizes that just as health metrics will tell us it is safe to move forward, health metrics may also tell us to return to a prior phase. With a vaccine or highly effective treatment not yet available, IDPH will be closely monitoring key metrics to immediately identify trends in cases and hospitalizations to determine whether a return to a prior phase may become necessary.
Ticketing for City Sticker and Residential Permit Parking
To provide some relief for residents, the Office of the City Clerk will be extending the late fee waiver period on certain City Stickers through
July 31, 2020,
for residents whose stickers were up for renewal or who purchased a new vehicle from
January-June of 2020
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The Department of Finance has also announced that they will be extending the ticketing moratorium through
July 31, 2020
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CPS Playgrounds Remain Closed
As Chicago cautiously begins to reopen parts of our city, all CPS playgrounds will remain closed in alignment with Park District guidance.
Street Sweeping Enforcement Started July 1
Starting on July 1, 2020, the City began enforcement of residential street sweeping.
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Nobody knows what will happen with COVID-19 between now and Nov. 3. The best way to ensure you can vote safely is to vote by mail.
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Applications for mail-in ballots are available now.
If you live in Chicago, you can apply
here
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Ballots will be mailed starting Sept. 24 and must be postmarked by Election Day.
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| Voting by mail is safe and secure. Read the BGA analysis here. |
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The South Loop is a vibrant neighborhood and as it continues to grow, it becomes increasingly more important
for residents to support local small businesses. The benefits of shopping local are documented through a number of
studies.
South Loop Neighbors especially urges residents to shop at local businesses that have partnered with the South Loop
Neighbors as Community Builders. Community Builders are businesses that are members of the SLN and who
recognize that a partnerships between SLN and local businesses creates an optimal environment for our neighborhood
to maintain and increase the vibrancy of the South Loop!
Please visit our website to learn more about our Community Builders.
New Openings:
- Bureau Bar + Restaurant (2115 S. State)
- Le Petite Foxes (1150 S. Indiana): Pediatric Occupational Therapist Clinic
- Taketei Sushi (800 S. Michigan)
Permanently Closed:
- Royale Puppies (2000 S. Wabash)
- Carter's (Roosevelt Collection)
- Bulldog Ale House (1001 S. State)
- The Scout Waterhouse + Kitchen (1301 S. Wabash)
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Community Builder Spotlight
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Do What Matters
Do What Matters is a strategic consultancy that works with companies and organizations to Do What Matters on issues of diversity, inclusion and racial equity. Specifically, we work with companies and non-profit organizations to build strategies and communications designed to establish radical empathy with their employees and audiences while achieving sustainable, positive change. Our strengths-based strategic framework focuses on identifying what works and amplifying these solutions to build solutions to achieve positive change quickly. For more information on how we can help you to Do What Matters, contact Lauren Tucker at
Do What Matters
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| Other Neighborhood Events |
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CAPS Meetings
Now that we have entered Phase 4 of our Public Health Emergency Plan, the Police Department will be able to hold in person meetings.
The next Beat Meeting for Sector 20 is scheduled to be held at District 1 Headquarters located at 1718 S. State St. at 630 PM on 12 August.
The next Beat Meeting for Sector 30 is scheduled to be held at District 1 Headquarters located at 1718 S. State St. at 6:30 PM on Aug. 18th.
Sector 10 meetings will resume in September.
Printer
Row Park Advisory Council
Printers Row Park PAC will host a meeting in the park at 7PM on Thursday, July 30th. The agenda is packed with park news & updates, an amendment to the by-laws for virtual meetings and guest speaker Dennis McClendon speaking about the park creation & design.
Dennis
is
an attorney and the proprietor of Chicago CartoGraphics, a design firm that specializes in maps and information graphics. Dennis wears many hats, but most notably in our neighborhood he currently is the South Loop Neighbors Vice President of Planning & Development. You may recognize Dennis from his annual "State of the South Loop" presentation he gives each year updating on new buildings in the neighborhood. The PAC is
looking forward to their first outdoor meeting in the park. Grab a chair, head over to the park and join in on Thursday @ 7PM.
(If by chance it is raining on Thursday, please email
Printers Row PAC
for the Zoom meeting link.)
Grant Park Advisory Council
Meetings in 2020 will be held on
the
third Wednesday of each month
, except December, at 6:30pm at the Maggie Daley
Field House. For now, meetings will be held virtually via Zoom.The next meeting is scheduled for August 19 at 6:00 PM. Register in advance for this meeting by Click here
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Millennium Park Great Lawn
The Great Lawn reopened with social distancing circles painted on the grass that will help groups stay 6 feet apart from one another while still being able to enjoy the sights.
The downtown park is currently accessible from an entrance at Michigan Avenue and Madison Street, and guests are asked to exit Millennium Park at Michigan Avenue and Washington Street, with daily hours running from 8am to 9pm. There's a maximum capacity for the park, which means that the entrance will close temporarily once the park it's full and presumably admit more people as visitors exit.
Coliseum Park Dog Run Clean Up
Saturday, August 1
8:30 - 10:00 am
50 E. 14th Place.
Join the South Loop Dog PAC and pitch in to help keep your dog park clean. Clean up efforts outside of the dog park are also welcomed.
Bring your furry friends for the fun! This is a great, safe, socially distant activity that makes our neighborhood beautiful.
Bring gloves, face mask, sunscreen and hats to protect yourself.
Cancellations:
Cancellations due to the COVID-19 crisis:
- Lollapalooza
- Taste of Chicago
- Air and Water Show
All large, permitted outdoor events through Labor Day (Sept. 7) have been cancelled.
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Thank You To All Who Attended!
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Ice Cream Social in partnership with the Printers Row Park Advisory Council on July 8
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