4243 N. Lincoln Ave. | info@chicago47.org | Office Hours: M-F 9am to 5pm
OFFICE CLOSED MONDAY, JANUARY 21 IN OBSERVANCE OF MLK DAY
January 18, 2013
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Dear Neighbor,
I am very pleased to announce the consumer and worker protection ordinances I co-sponsored with Mayor Emanuel, Ald. Solis and Ald. Mitts passed City Council yesterday! The legislation addresses wage theft and the licensing of debt collectors. We began working on these two pieces of legislation in the summer of 2012.
Since taking office, Mayor Emanuel has been working toward making Chicago among the most business-friendly cities in the country. To that end, in City Council we passed sweeping business license reforms that streamline the business license process and eliminate the head tax. We are also cognizant, however, that being a pro-business city must also mean being socially responsible. And while we must continue to cultivate a climate that invites new businesses, this climate must also ensure that bad businesses are not allowed to prey on Chicagoans.
After taking effect the ordinances will do the following:
Debt Collection
- Require debt collectors to obtain a City of Chicago license
- Fine debt collectors that engage in predatory practices
- Require debt collectors to provide documentation to prove debt is valid
- Align the City of Chicago municipal code with state and federal laws on debt collection
License Revocation - Wage Theft
- Create an information pipeline whereby the City can use state and federal data on employers convicted of wage theft to deny business licenses
- Align the City of Chicago municipal code with state and federal laws on wages and payment
Why are these consumer and worker protections important?
Debt Collection. First, a bad debt is a bad debt and people must be held responsible for their debts. However, consumers must also be protected from fly-by-night debt collection operations, and consumers have a right to view information regarding the debt of which the collection agency is attempting to collect. Many times basic information regarding the original debt is not made available to the consumer. This ordinance requires debt collectors to provide documentation on the debt they seek to collect and in doing so curb predatory debt collection practices.
Wage theft. It is the unfortunate practice of some employers to illegally withhold earnings from their employees. While wage theft is more prevalent in some sectors than others, it happens every day to thousands of households throughout our city. This can often happen as a flat out denial of pay, an indefinite delay of pay, not paying earned overtime wages or denying paid breaks just to name a few. This illegal activity hurts employees, their families and our economy. Each week, nearly $7 million is stolen from workers by their employers in Cook County alone. These stolen wages are not going to pay down consumer debt, not going to purchase consumer goods nor are put to work in our economy through sales and income taxes. When employers steal from their employees, everybody loses. This ordinance will enable the City to take action, such as to deny business licenses, against bad businesses.
Chicago is now the largest city in the country to address wage theft in a comprehensive way! Many months of work and advocacy paid off this week. I want to thank my fellow co-sponsor Ald. Mitts, Chairman of License and Consumer Protection, for guiding this ordinance through the committee process as well as co-sponsor Ald. Solis. I want to extend a big thank you to Mayor Emanuel for his leadership on these very important consumer and worker protections. Finally, I want to recognize the work of Arise Chicago Worker Center, Rev. CJ Hawkins, Adam Kader and Micah Uetricht (47th Ward resident!), all the individuals and organizations who testified at the committee hearings, and the business community for partnering with us to craft meaningful legislation.
Sincerely,
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Upcoming
Ward Nights
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Wednesdays from 5:30pm to 8:00pm
January 23
February 6
February 20
February 27
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WPPA Baseball
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It's time to register for the next season of baseball in Welles Park. Welles Park Youth Baseball (WPPA) 2013 Online Registration dates are as follows:January 2 - January 11Returning Players & SiblingsJanuary 12 -
January 22
New Players
For more information, see the WPPA website.
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| Tax Information from Cmsr. Fritchey |
The first installment tax bills are being mailed the end of January, so people will have them in their mailboxes by February 1, 2013. Due date will be March 1, 2013. Right now Cook County is on track to mail the second-installment bills out the end of June, with a due date of August 1, 2013. That is subject to some change, but August 1 is the state mandated due date, so they are working very hard to meet it. Senior exemption and senior freeze applications were already mailed. Those are due back February 6, 2013. Long-Time forms have not been mailed out yet, but we can expect those to go out in the next couple of months.
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Snow Related Parking Bans
From December 1, 2012 to April 1, 2013 certain arterial streets in Chicago have two additional types of parking restrictions related to snow fall. One pertains to times when there is 2 inches or more of snow on the street and the other restricts overnight parking, regardless of snowfall. See maps here. Please call or email the 47th Ward Office with any questions. |
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Click the flyer to learn more.
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Free Mulch Available
Christmas Tree disposal at Clark Park has come to a close however if you are interested in obtaining mulch or wood chips for your yard, the Bureau of Forestry does have it available for pick up year round at five of the Streets & Sanitation Forestry Yards. The woody debris resulting from trees and branches removed by the Bureau of forestry is 100% recycled and reused.
The Bureau of Forestry of the Department of Streets & Sanitation offers free mulch. The mulch is available on a limited basis for pick up during working hours of 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday.
The locations for pick up are:
- 4101 North Oak Park Avenue (Chicago Read Center)
- Grand and Rockwell (South of Grand Avenue, behind of the salt pile, along the south fence)
- 52nd and Oakley (near the Salt Dome)
- 2342 South Ashland Avenue (North West corner of property)
- 900 East 103rd Street (North East corner of property)
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Commission on School Utilization Meeting
The CPS Commission on School Utilization has issued its first report. A copy of the report can be found here. They will be holding their next round of community meetings soon. The meetings for the Ravenswood-Ridge Network, which covers the 47th Ward, will be on Monday, January 28th 7pm-9pm & Saturday, February 16th 11am-1pm at Truman College (1145 W. Wilson).
More information on the Commission on School Utilization and this process can be found on the CPS website.
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Dara Reports
Sulzer needs your old games. If you have games that your family no longer uses, please bring them to the 47th Ward Office or to Sulzer Library. Their ever-popular "Game Night" could use a few more board games like Sorry, Chess, Life, Uno, Jenga, Rummy Cube, etc.
Check the latest events and classes at Swedish Covenant Hospital. In particular, Your Heart Beat...and a Cooking Demo!, A Prenatal Visit with the Pediatrician and Learning About Natural Childbirth.
Congratulations to Opart Thai House (4658 N. Western) on their rave reviews from WTTW's "Check Please" program. The two people who learned they were going to Opart Thai for their appearance on Check Please both had friends who told them it was also their favorite Thai restaurant in town! What better recommendation can you get?
Take a look at Chicago Magazine's February issue. Congratulations to these "The Best Bars" from the 47th Ward:
The Best of the Best ... Half Acre Tap Room (4257 N. Lincoln)
The 12 Best Cocktail Spots ... The Grafton (4530 N. Lincoln) and Tiny Lounge (4352 N. Leavitt)
The 6 Best Craft Beer Havens ... Fountainhead (1970 W. Montrose)
The 18 Best Neighborhood Spots ... Huettenbar (4721 N. Lincoln)
The 5 Best Drink-Time Diversions ... The Globe Pub (1934 W. Irving Park)
The 10 Best Dives ... Carol's Pub (4659 N. Clark)
And congratulations to Ice Cubed (1509 W. Lawrence) who was nominated for Food Truck Rookie of the Year 2012 from Mobile Cuisine. It's a nationwide competition and Ice Cubed is the only truck nominated from Chicago and just made it to the finals! The competition ends this Friday at midnight central time. To vote, please click here.
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Infrastructure Update
Check out the infrastructure map on our webpage!
Water Main for Marshfield
City Crews from the Dept. of Water Management will begin replacing the 1906 water main under Marshfield from Irving Park to Byron. This work was slated to start soon, but will be delayed until early Spring. To see the residents' notice, please click here.
Water Main for Leavitt
City contractor will be replacing the 1895 water main under Leavitt St. from Irving Park to Montrose. The work should be completed by early March 2013. To see the residents' notice, please click here.
Sewer Mains for Wolcott and Ravenswood
City crews are installing sewer pipes on Wolcott (Addison to Bradley) and Ravenswood (Belmont to Roscoe). The installation will be completed by the end of February and restoration will follow in Spring 2013. To see the residents' notice, please click here.
Irving Park Streetscape
The final phase of this 2-year streetscape construction will be installation of the new parkway permeable pavers is delayed until spring. Curb and gutter was completed however the parkway will be filled with a temporary concrete in locations that the pavers were not completed so that they will not create a hazard over the winter.
Metra Traffic Closures and Detours
- Foster lane restrictions will be in place through 1/25/2013
- The bridge at Leland is CLOSED until 2/28/2013 to install bridge supports and abutments.
- 4500-4600 N. Ravenswood Parking is restricted until 2/28/2013
- The Ravenswood Metra Station construction continues with intermittent parking restrictions.
- Tieback installation continues between Montrose and Berteau with intermittent parking restrictions and closures through 2/28/2013.
- Lagging and tieback installation continues between Irving Park and Grace with intermittent parking restrictions and closures through 2/28/2013.
Parking restrictions and detours may be opened, when possible, and re-closed once work is ready to resume.
For more information, visit the infrastructure section of our website or contact Bill Higgins at bill@chicago47.org or 773-549-2745.
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Community Events
For details on the events listed below, please see the events section of our website.
January 22 Tuesday 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Game Night at the Library
Sulzer Library, 4455 N. Lincoln Avenue
January 26 Saturday 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Ravenswood Fellowship Chilifest
Ravanswood Fellowship Church, 4511 N. Hermitage Avenue
January 30 Wednesday 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Weatherization/Energy Savings Workshop
Bethany United Church of Christ, 4250 N. Paulina Avenue
February 2 Saturday 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Houseplant Talk
Gethsemane Garden Center, 5739 N. Clark Street
February 9 Saturday 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Game of Change, documentary on 1963 NCAA basketball tournament
Sulzer Regional Library Auditorium, 4455 N. Lincoln Avenue
February 9 Saturday 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
PARENTS' NIGHT OUT AT PILGRIM!
Pilgrim Lutheran C, 4300 N. Winchester Avenue
February 15 Friday 6:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Global Explorers Kids Carnival Fundraiser
Luther Memorial Church, 2500 W. Wilson Avenue
March 9 Saturday 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Scrappers, documentary on Two Chicago metal scavengers
Sulzer Regional Library Auditorium, 4455 N. Lincoln Avenue
Want to put your community event in our newsletter? Check the guidelines on our website.
CAPS Meetings. If you would like to get to participate in community policing or express concerns about crime happening in your area, please consider attending your beat meetings. A schedule of beat meetings is available on our website. If you have any questions about CAPS or need additional information, please contact Jim Poole at 773-549-4462 or jim@chicago47.org. 19th District CAPS Office (All areas of the 47th Ward south of Lawrence) 312-744-0064 or CAPS019District@chicagopolice.org. 20th District CAPS Office (All areas of the 47th Ward north of Lawrence) 312-742-8770 or CAPS020District@chicagopolice.org.
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