Incumbent Aldermen Haul In Big Bucks As Opponents Gear Up To Challenge Them August 13, 2018
CITY HALL – As summer days wane and new campaign launches proliferate, candidates in contested aldermanic races have roughly $5.2 million to spend on upcoming races, with millions more expected to pour in before Election Day in February. Incumbent aldermen are hauling in big bucks — although the open race in the 47th Ward promises […]
Concerned About Lincoln Yards Transportation Issues? Get Organized, Ald. Hopkins Says August 10, 2018
DOWNTOWN – Chicagoans worried that the massive $5 billion plan to transform now-industrial land along the North Branch of the Chicago River into a new neighborhood will snarl traffic throughout the North Side need to “get off the sidelines” as Sterling Bay’s project enters the next phase, Ald. Brian Hopkins (2) said. “You have Friends of the […]
Heartbroken Friends Of Lane Tech Student Who Died After Lollapalooza Raise More Than $20K For His Family August 8, 2018
NORTH CENTER — The GoFundMe page for a Lane Tech senior who was hit by a train Sunday has raised more than $20,000 in less than 24 hours. Sincere Ash, 17, was last seen with friends at about 4:15 p.m. Sunday at Lollapalooza in Grant Park and was later reported missing. After hours of searching, friends […]
Sterling Bay’s Big Lincoln Yards Plan Needs To Put Traffic And Parks First, Survey Says August 8, 2018
LINCOLN PARK — An online survey asking the public what they thought of Sterling Bay’s plans for Lincoln Yards didn’t get many responses, but those who did weigh in were very focused on how the $5 billion plan would impact infrastructure and transportation in the area. Fewer than 500 people responded to the online survey – a fraction of […]
Play Bingo, Eat Hot Dogs, Win Veggies Tonight At The Hideout August 1, 2018
BUCKTOWN — Veggie Bingo is season is here again and tonight, Block Club Chicago is getting in on the action. The weekly bingo game returns to The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabasnia Ave. from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Each week, players can sip beers and eat hot dogs while playing to win an array […]
Tired Of Piles Of Trash Near Sedgwick Brown Line, Resident Starts His Own Garbage Pick Up Service July 31, 2018
OLD TOWN — For Brian Wassel, there are worse things than picking up dog poop when out walking his golden retriever puppy. In the three months since he started, Wassel estimates he’s hauled more than a thousand gallons of trash from the bins along the 1400 block of North Sedgwick, about a half mile from […]
Packed Animal Shelter Asked Chicagoans For Help … So Residents Lined Up To Rescue 109 Pets July 30, 2018
CHICAGO — PAWS Chicago, the city’s largest no-kill animal shelter, needed help finding homes for the dogs and cats it rescues — and Chicagoans stepped up. PAWS was at capacity at the end of last week and, concerned that would limit its ability to take in more pets, asked for help finding permanent homes and foster families […]
Hawaiians Call For Aloha Poke Boycott, Saying No Company Should Own The Words ‘Aloha Poke’ July 30, 2018
CHICAGO — A Chicago-based poke chain has angered hundreds of Hawaiians after an activist said the chain sent cease and desist letters to other restaurants for using the word “aloha.” In August 2017, Eater Chicago reported that a poke shop in Fairhaven, Wash., changed its name in response to a cease and desist letter from […]
Stabbing In Lincoln Park Seriously Wounds Man Trying To Break Up Fight July 30, 2018
CHICAGO — A 21-year-old man was stabbed while trying to break up a fight in Lincoln Park early Sunday. At 2:43 a.m., the man was in the 600 block of West Belden Avenue when he tried to end a fight between other people, police said. Someone stabbed the man in the left side of his ribs […]
Chicago Accents Are Not Sexy At All, Study Finds July 27, 2018
DOWNTOWN — A new survey says da Chicawwgo accent is da least attractive. The survey, which was conducted and released earlier this month from YouGov, found just 2 percent of all respondents thought Chicagoans have the most attractive accent. So what’s better? Southern and Texas accents, apparently: 18 percent and 12 percent of the 1,216 respondents, […]

The Fire Station Park, a project of the Lincoln Central Association, has won a 2017 Chicago Excellence in Gardening Award, a city-wide gardening competition created to acknowledge the many gardeners who help to make Chicago a beautiful, sustainable and welcoming place to live and work.

Sally Drucker, LCA Parks Chair and Board Member, and LCA Vice President Kathy Jordan received the award on behalf of Lincoln Central at the awards ceremony in the Chicago Cultural Center.

LCA President Kenneth Dotson said, "Congratulations to Sally, in particular, whose vision and leadership of the park has brought this wonderful achievement to LCA."

The competition featured gardens from 26 Chicago Wards, including homes, schools, churches, universities, associations, businesses and demonstration gardens. Categories included community gardens, school gardens, residential gardens (vegetable, ornamental, specialty) and other gardens. Fire Station Park was entered in the "other" category, since it includes both vegetable and ornamental plants indigenous to Illinois.

Newsletter & Website Each Receive Awards for Publication Excellence

LCA was honored earlier this month with a Grand Award and two Excellence Awards in the 2017 APEX Awards for Publication Excellence. LCA was the only volunteer non-profit to be honored in the international communications competition, now in its 29th year.

Other organizations whose creative was honored include Ford Motor Company, American Cancer Society, Bank of America, GEICO, International Monetary Fund, Merrill Lynch, American Bar Association, Lockheed Martin, Augusta National Golf Club, Pacific Life, Disney, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Prudential Insurance, NASA, the National Football League, among others.

The Grand Award (shown below) came in the Design & Illustration category for LCA's suite of event and organization logos shown below. Judges attributed the award to (read more).

Natural Elements Salon Is "Best Place to Get Fit & Refreshed

Natural Elements Salon, owned and operated by LCA member Edda Coscioni, is the "Best Place to Get Fit and Refreshed," according to online voting in the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce Top 10 Awards. The awards ceremony, hosted by WGN-AM's Patti Vasquez, was held at the Steppenwolf Theatre on October 24. Other winners Molly's Cupcakes for "Best Place for Coffee & Sweets"; Nookies for "Best Place to Brunch"; Dirk's Fish and Gourmet Shop for "Best Place to Shop"; the J. Parker for "Best Place to Drink"; Westend Dental for "Best Neighborhood Service Provider"; Lincoln Park Zoo for "Best Place for Arts and Culture"; and Summer House Santa Monica for "Best Place to Dine." Read more about the awards.

.......the "superb visuals" of the logos and their "clever headlines and slogans." APEX Grand Awards, the highest given in this competition, honor the most outstanding work in eleven main categories.

For the second consecutive year, LCA's newsletter, From the Heart, received an APEX Award for Publication Excellence. Judges cited a September 2016 sidebar article authored by Kathy Jordan on the late Conrad Moulton, father of local artist Josh Moulton, as an example of the newsletter's quality content. The senior Moulton was a famed, New York-based illustrator of print advertising, text books, and encyclopedias for four decades. APEX Excellence Awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the ability to achieve overall communications effectiveness.

LCA's website also received an APEX Award for Publication Excellence, in the 1 to 2 Person Published Website category.

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Aug 23, 2018 – LCA Monthly Board Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Sep 11, 2018 – LCA Monthly Zoning Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Sep 27, 2018 – LCA Monthly Board Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Oct 9, 2018 – LCA Monthly Zoning Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Oct 25, 2018 – LCA Monthly Board Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Nov 13, 2018 – LCA Monthly Zoning Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Nov 22, 2018 – LCA Monthly Board Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Dec 11, 2018 – LCA Monthly Zoning Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Dec 27, 2018 – LCA Monthly Board Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Jan 8, 2019 – LCA Monthly Zoning Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Jan 24, 2019 – LCA Monthly Board Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Feb 12, 2019 – LCA Monthly Zoning Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Feb 28, 2019 – LCA Monthly Board Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Mar 12, 2019 – LCA Monthly Zoning Meeting
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Apr 9, 2019 – LCA Monthly Zoning Meeting

With dozens of kids breaking through a "Bauler 2016" banner, the Bauler playground at Wisconsin and Cleveland opened to the public after months of work to remove old equipment and install new, updated playground equipment loaded with innovative, fun pieces to explore.

LCA has served as the fiscal agent for Bauler Park for many years, but President Kenneth Dotson credited 43rd Ward Alderman Michele Smith, the Bauler Park Advisory Council, headed by Leslie Miller, and the Chicago Park District for the successful outcome. "LCA has long assisted Bauler Park," said Dotson, "but projects like this don't get done, especially not ahead of schedule, without a group of dedicated parents and neighbors, the full support of the Alderman and resources and execution from the Chicago Park District. The Bauler playlot renovation was no exception." The renovation was part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's "Chicago Plays" initiative, which is providing updated equipment for playgrounds in the city.

The completion of the renovation comes just in time for LCA's 9th Annual Howler at Bauler, the annual Halloween celebration for neighborhood children that is held in the park each October. More on the history of Howler at Bauler is included in the November issue of From the Heart.

THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 13th

6:00-8:00 PM | Fire Station Park

Please join us on Thursday evening, September 13th, as we bring the neighborhood together for another magical evening in award-winning Fire Station Park & Gardens at the 5th annual Evening in the Garden, a reception style event celebrating our wonderful neighborhood and saluting our volunteers.

Evening in the Garden, one of LCA's most popular events, will be held from 6:00 PM TO 8:00 PM (but, we'll stay as long as you're having a good time.) This year's event will feature hors d'oeuvres & wine from popular neighborhood food and beverage establishments including Geja's Cafe &, J9 Wine Bar.

Returning to the event fonce again will be prominent Chicago magician, the amazing Benjamin Barnes who will stroll through the event performing close-up magic and unbelievable illusions. Earlier this year, Barnes performed at LCA's 4th Annual Summer Sipper.

Evening in the Garden is a great opportunity to visit with old friends and neighbors and meet new ones and get to know business with heart who support LCA.

New Holiday Tradition Established in Lincoln Park

Oz Park's First Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony was an overwhelming success, as hundreds of people from throughout Lincoln Park gathered to celebrate the beginning of the season. Produced and hosted by Lincoln Central Association and the Oz Park Advisory Council as a gift to the neighborhood, the ceremony took place at 5:00 PM on Saturday, December 2nd, at the large evergreen tree just south of the Tin Man in Oz Park.

Brief remarks by LCA President Kenneth Dotson, OPAC President Judy Johanson, 43rd Ward Alderman Michele Smith, and 5th District Congressman Mike Quigley opened the lighting ceremony followed by carols sung by choristers from Lincoln Park High School. Johanson then led the crowd in clicking their heels and counting "1-2-3" as suddenly the tree became ablaze with lights. The ceremony ended with everyone joining in singing a chorus of "Jingle Bells."

"It was an honor to be a part of the first-ever Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony in Oz Park," said Alderman Smith. "A huge thank you to Lincoln Central Association and the Oz Park Advisory Council for uniting the neighborhood at this celebration and for establishing such an meaningful new tradition for our community. I look forward to seeing the tree lit for years to come"

Early arrivers to the tree lighting ceremony were able to visit with Santa Claus, a guest of the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce at their Winter Warm-Up event on Lincoln Avenue. which was headquartered at the Tin Man. Winter Warm-Up also featured carols sung by performers from the Old Town School of Folk Music. LCA and OPAC are grateful to the Chamber of Commerce for locating and timing their event to benefit the tree lighting.

Based on the success of the ceremony and strong neighborhood feedback, LCA and OPAC plan to make the tree lighting celebration an annual gift from the two organizations to the neighborhood.