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Come Warm Up in Old Town! |
DEAR OLD TOWN NEIGHBOR,
Brrrrr. . . . It's cold out there. But the days are getting longer, reminding us that warmer times are right around the corner. In the meantime don't forget all the warm spots in Old Town -- the theatres, the shops, the restaurants and lounges are all here to turn up the heat and put a spring in your step! Happy February!
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Hope For Haiti -- CUT-A-THON
Compagnia Della Bellezza is sponsoring a Cut-A-Thon to benefit the disaster relief efforts in Haiti. On Sunday, March 7th join Maria, Paolo, and the rest of the team at the Believe It Or Not Building (1500 N. Wells) for a $50 luxury spa package. 100% of proceeds go directly to the cause.
Compagnia Della Bellezza brings you the latest styles from the runways of Italy to the heart of Old Town. This means for your tax-deductible donation, you will receive a haircut, blow dry or styling, neck and shoulder massage, make-up application and more!
Refreshments, a raffle, and door prizes!
Please call 312-944-6747 to set up an appointment. Or check out the salon at www.cbd-chicago.com. Come out to Old Town and "do" your part to help out in Haiti! |
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VIP Tax Station Special Member Offer
VIP Tax Station (553 West North Avenue) is offering a special 20% off discount to all OTMRA members. VIP Tax Station believes in the value of relationships. They view every client relationship like a partnership, and truly believe that their success is a result of your success. They are committed to providing close, personal attention to their clients. VIP takes pride in giving you the assurance that the personal assistance you receive comes from years of advanced training, technical experience and financial acumen.
They provide a variety of services including:
- Income Tax Preparation for all types of businesses, and individuals
- Online Tax Preparation
- Payroll Reporting
- QuickBooks setup and support
- Business startup services
- Monthly booking and accounting services
- 1031 Like Kind Exchanges
- Financial statements - making sure your financial records are timely and accurate
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Business Scholarships Available!
Foresight Design Initiative is offering three (3) scholarships each to three (3) of their Chicago Sustainable Business Alliance (CSBA) Workshops.
The first workshop on Monday, February 22, 2010 is: Sustainable Business Fundamentals - Principles (CSBA 101) Sustainable Business: What It Means and How To Begin Co-taught by an experienced business executive and Foresight's Executive Director, CSBA 101 provides an introduction to basic sustainable business concepts and practices. It lays the groundwork for further learning as well as for beginning to implement these principles in one's enterprise and/or workplace. Attendees receive a comprehensive resource guide. SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 5 In order to be considered for one of the scholarships, send an email with your business/organization's name and a paragraph explaining how you could benefit from attending the workshop by Friday, February 5. Foresight will select three (3) organizations to participate. Attendance for chosen parties is mandatory. This opportunity is intended to promote increased awareness and potential implementation of sustainable business principles. A combination of methodologies will be used to determine implementation of (and benefits to) the participating businesses including evaluations and surveys. For a detailed description of the February 22 workshop, please click here Questions should be directed to Bobbie at: csba@foresightdesign.org |
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Thanks for your continued support of the Old Town Merchants and Residents Association! The Association takes pride in the neighborhood and works tirelessly to support and promote it's member residents and businesses. If you have any questions, would like to learn more about membership, or just get involved in the neighborhood; stop in or give us a call!
Sincerely,
Old Town Merchants & Residents Association | |
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As you may have heard,due to budget cuts, CTA service -- especially bus routes -- are going to go through cut-backs in about a week. Beginning February 7th, nine express bus routes will be eliminated. Service hours and service frequency on other bus routes will also be affected.
For all train lines, the hours of operation and days of service will remain unchanged. However, trains will run less frequently.
Please note the changes and plan your travel times accordingly. For a complete list of changes, please visit transitchicago.com or contact CTA Customer Service at 1-888-YOUR-CTA.
Another source of information is the link below:
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ACCION OFFERS SMALL BUSINESS LOANS!
Do you have outstanding credit and a strong relationship with your bank and still can't seem to get a loan to get you through the next few months? If you need a small business loan under $25,000, look no further than ACCION!
Answer the following questions to see if you are an ACCION Chicago loan prospect...
- Are you over 21 years of age?
- Do you operate your business in one of the following Illinois or Indiana counties: Cook, Lake, McHenry, DuPage, DeKalb, Kane, Grundy, Will, LaSalle, Kendall, or Kankakee in Illinois or Lake or Porter in Indiana?
- Does your business generate annual revenues less than $500,000?
- Are you in an industry that does NOT involve: real estate development, not-for-profit organization, exporting, multi-level marketing, or lending?
- If you are a start-up business, do you have an alternate source of income?
- Have you invested savings or personal equity in your business?
- Are you current on all personal and business bills?
- Are you prepared to offer collateral for the loan?
- Are you and your business free of active bankruptcy, outstanding tax liens and delinquent child support?
If you answered "YES" to every question above, you are ready to apply for an ACCION Chicago loan!
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Property Tax Relief
Did you know the City of Chicago Property Tax Relief Program may also be available to you? It is meant to provide relief between $25 and $200 to City homeowners hit hardest by increases to their 2008 property tax bill for their primary residence. This program is needed largely because of the phase-out of the state law that put a 7 percent cap on annual increases and because the decrease in this year's exemption.
The amount of tax relief you might receive is based on a combination of income level and the amount of your property tax increase. For example, the lower your income and the higher your property tax increase, the more relief you'll be eligible for.
You can access the application here. |
CAPS MEETINGS
Wednesday, February 3rd, 6:30PM: Beat 1821 at the Near North Library, 330 W Division for 43rd Ward residents between North Avenue and Division from LaSalle to Larrabee.
Thursday, February 4th, 3:00pm: Hospitality Sub-Committee at Shenanigans, 16 W. Division. Attendance Required for all late-night liquor licensees. All interested parties encouraged to attend.
Feel free to contact the OTMRA office with any questions! | |
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