The Chicago Alumni Club of Michigan State University and Ravenswood Elementary School announced Monday they will partner to support the magnet arts cluster school with its 30,000 strong network of Chicago area alumni.  Ravenswood will be its exclusive Chicago elementary partner school.  Spartan alumni will engage in volunteer activities throughout the year to promote the school, strengthen its outreach to the community, help with fundraising efforts and proved student enrichment activities such as the support of its existing math and running clubs.

This partnership is supported by Alumni for Public Schools (APS), a Chicago non-profit that creates mutually beneficial relationships between schools and alumni clubs.  This is accomplished by matching the strengths, as well as needs, of a local public school with the talents and commitments of a university or college alumni club.  Congratulations to Ravenswood School and Michigan State Alumni for arranging this fabulous partnership.

An alliance of local organizations, utility companies and non-profit groups is helping area homeowners increase the comfort of their homes this fall. The alliance, Energy Impact Illinois, recently introduced a special limited-time rebate for Chicago-area homeowners of up to $1,750 to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes before winter hits.

With our unusually hot weather this summer, it may be hard to remember back to last winter when you noticed an especially drafty room or the window bay in your breakfast nook that just always seemed a bit colder. For sure, you know if rooms in your house were hotter than normal these last few months. These issues, and more, can be solved by making energy efficiency improvements like sealing up air leaks and installing proper insulation, which the rebate is designed for.

47th Ward homeowners are now eligible for the up to $1,750 rebate to take energy efficiency steps in their own homes. To receive the rebate, homeowners call Energy Impact Illinois at 855-9-IMPACT. Energy Impact Illinois then helps determine eligible rebates, and links homeowners to certified contractors who can assess and estimate the right mix of air sealing and insulation projects that will achieve savings.

Though the rebate can help homeowners save, on average, 70 percent on the typical cost of the actual work, Energy Impact Illinois can also link homeowners with attractive loan options with zero percent interest for the first year to make up any difference.

More than half of total energy costs come from heating and cooling a home and almost all homes let too much air escape or penetrate. Most homes also have incorrectly installed or insufficient amounts of attic insulation.  Air sealing and insulating a home are some easy, right-now steps homeowners can take to reduce energy bills and create a more comfortable home for winter.

For more information, 47th Ward homeowners can call 855-9-IMPACT. Homeowners can also visit the website TheEnergyBills.org for tools and links to contractor resources to help take the first steps to lowering energy bills and increasing comfort of your home.

It's an outdoor weekend for Chicago. The US Navy Blue Angels will perform at 10:00 a.m. this Saturday. The US is celebrating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. Frigates will be on Lake Michigan for the first time since 1999. Navy divers will dive off the Shedd Aquarium point; other sailors will do volunteer work.

The western boundary of our ward is the Chicago River. Recently Riverbank Neighbors were given a really great write-up on the City of Chicago website regarding their "citizen-led restoration." Go to the river at Berteau; walk the paths through the prairie on the south and through the woods up the path to Montrose. It is awe inspiring to see what a group of committed neighbors are doing to improve the riverbank and create an oasis in the city.  Click here for more information.

Not Such Random Acts .... Many neighbors are lending a hand to our public schools; whether they have children in the school or not! Adam Walsh is just such a person - he was out last week watering the new plantings a Ravenswood School. Those new plants came from another exceptional neighbor in the ward; Laura Kollar of Matty K's!  Not wanting to see the end of the season plants wither and die, she and her husband Matt donated the plants to the school. Jeff, who works at the Daily Bar & Grill thwarted a thief! Jeff stopped a man with a grinding tool from stealing a bike last week. He then called the police and left his contact information for the bike's owner. Do you  know of other folks in our community who we should thank for their kindness and commitment to our neighborhood? Please let me know at dara@chicago47.org.

Keep our gutters flowing!  Please rake and bag all leaves from your property and the gutters. Place the bags next to your garbage cart.  If you have older neighbors or neighbors who are living with a disability, please keep their gutters cleared too.  Do you have a landscaper? Please remind them that blowing leaves into the gutter is illegal.  For more stormwater management tips, please click here.

Third grade teachers at Audubon Elementary School are looking for donations of gently used children's magazines, including Highlights, SI for Kids, National Geographic, Cricket, American Girl, Stone Soup, and anything else you have. These can be used for years to come. They have placed a labeled box outside the school office at 3500 N. Hoyne (773-534-5470) in which you can drop off magazines throughout the rest of the summer and the beginning of the school year.

Check out the new infrastructure map on our webpage!

W. Eastwood Avenue from Damen to Leavitt

Crews from the Dept. of Water Management (DWM) are working to replace the old 1891 water main under Eastwood Avenue between Damen and Leavitt. The work is schedule to be completed by late August.  To see the residents' notice click here. 

N. Wayne Avenue from Irving Park to 600 Feet South

The sewer main under the 3900 block of Wayne Avenue is currently being replaced by DWM private contractors and the concrete base course has been laid at the road is open to traffic. Paving will be completed on Friday (weather dependent). To see the residents' notice click here. 

Peoples Gas Main Replacement

Construction to connect the new main to each customer will begin soon on Irving Park Rd between Lincoln and Ravenswood.  Parking restrictions will be posted in the area.  

Construction crews from Peoples Gas and their contractor Northern Pipeline continue their multi-year gas main replacement project in the 47th Ward. Sod has now been laid (grass seed in some instances) in a number of areas throughout the ward to restore damage to city parkways.  

Metra Track and Bridge Construction along Ravenswood 

• Montrose: Drilled Shaft Coring 
• West Side Ravenswood- Irving Park to Berteau (Wall 9): Install Lagging and Walers  
• West Side Ravenswood- Grace to Irving Park (Wall 10): Drill, Set and Pour Soldier Beams 
• Lawrence: Install Temporary Platform, Install Retaining Wall, Install Abutment (all in Sears Parking Lot) 

Metra Traffic Closures and Detours  

• Work is scheduled to begin on the bridge at Ravenswood and Winnemac has begun and will continue through early November.  
• Irving Park to Berteau Detours will be up until November 2012.
• Grace to Irving Park Detours will be up until November 2012.
• Parking has been restricted between the CTA tracks and Ravenswood on all streets from Grace to Berteau to accommodate u-turns while the road is closed.  The south side of Berenice has parking restrictions from Lincoln to Ravenswood to accommodate two-way traffic until Ravenswood is reopened.
• Parking restrictions and detours may be opened, when possible, and re-closed once work is ready to resume. 

Taking place along Lincoln Avenue from Irving Park/4000N to Berenice/3836N, the second year of this festival will be extended to Friday night. Note that the south end beer tent tips will benefit three community organizations. On Friday night Northcenter Neighborhood Association volunteers will staff the tent, all day Saturday Friends of Filbert volunteers will be staffing  and all day Sunday will be volunteers from the Neighborhood Boys and Girls Club. For more information on the festival's band line up click here.