In more exciting school news, Leevy Williams, IB Junior, Music Performance major and Principal Cellist in the Lincoln Park Symphony Orchestra, was selected 1st Place Winner at the annual DePaul Concerto Festival competition.
Congrats, Leevy!
Get Ready for Chicago Restaurant Week!
January 30- February 12
We know that Lincoln Park and all of Chicago is becoming a national culinary destination. Chicago Restaurant Week lets you join the trend with set menus for lunch and dinner at Chicago's great restaurants. The following restaurants in the 43rd Ward are participating:
The Lincoln Park Conservancy will be offering its annual training to volunteers age 18 and older who are interested in learning how to survey for frog calls in Lincoln Park or anywhere in the Chicago Region.
Advance registration is required. Contact Aaron Hammond at (773) 883-PARK.
I am very pleased to announce that the initial phase of construction of the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School annex has been completed, and the major structural work for the rest of the project has begun in earnest!
On site at the new Annex with Project Manager Andy Horn from the Public Building Commission
As you may be aware, I advocated long and hard for a solution to the significant overcrowding currently experienced by the school. When the last addition to Lincoln Elementary was completed in the early 1940's, the school was constructed to house slightly more than 600 students. However, the current enrollment is well over 800 students.
In addition, during the last census, the number of children under 5 years of age living within Lincoln Park grew by 23%, and the number of children aged 5-9 grew by an additional 38%.
The construction of the annex will resolve both the current - and future - overcrowding concerns at Lincoln Elementary while enabling the school to continue to provide a world-class education.
Plans for the Annex include seventeen new classrooms, allowing for the full educational programming of Lincoln Elementary to thrive, including full day kindergarten, International Gifted Programming, Ecole Franco-Americaine de Chicago and English as a Second Language studies.
There will also be two new music and band rooms, a new computer lab, as well as a new lunchroom/multipurpose room that can double as an additional gym. Children's play space will include a new, ground level playground as well as a new, open-air play level on the roof, providing plenty of space for outdoor activities. You can see the plans on my website.
I am incredibly proud that I've been able to advocate successfully for our kids and their schools, including
all-school IB at Lincoln Park High School, new playing fields at Alcott and Newberry elementary schools, preservation of the LaSalle Language Academy magnet program, and a new playground at Goudy Park. I will continue to work with Local School Councils, parents groups and the Chicago Public Schools to ensure that all parents have high- quality educational options for their children.
Property Tax Exemption Applications Now Available
The Cook County Assessor's Office has released property tax exemption applications for tax year 2014 (for tax bills payable for 2015). This month, the Assessor's Office has made available the homeowner, senior and senior freeze exemption applications. The Long-Time Occupant Exemption Application is to be released in February 2015 by the Assessor's Office. Senior citizen homeowners must complete their senior exemptions (senior citizen & senior freeze) every year. Exemption applications are available at www.BridgetGainer.com.
