National Night Out, Tuesday August 4. 2015 at Cotton Tail Park

NATO protesters March through the South Loop

This group wanted the United States out of the Philippines.

Sunday May 200, 2012—Well it happened. We finally had the protest march down S. Michigan Ave. that we were told was coming. If you were following things on Twitter, you would have seen moment by moment updates as the marchers got closer and closer to our neighborhood.

Smaller than expected
Perhaps not as big as expected, (some estimated the marchers numbered 3,000) but it was noisy and boisterous. Just about every cause and/or grievance was on display. There were anti-war protesters, those in support of WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning, a small sampling of protesters out today. Hard to discern a cohesive message among all the groups, but that didn’t seem to matter to those involved in the march to Cermak. There was a strong police presence during the entire march with officers on foot, riding bicycles, and in motor vehicles.

Police officers on bikes line up along Michigan Ave.

Loud but under control
The protesters were at times loud, some of the signs held high were profane, but overall things never seemed to get out of hand. Before the protesters arrived at Cermak to rally and listen to speeches, the Chicago Sanitation Department was on the job cleaning the streets. Street sweepers and garbage trucks assembled, seemingly out of nowhere, and started cleaning up.

What was your impression?
It seemed like an amazingly smooth operation to us. What was your perspective? Please share your thoughts here.

CAPS Meeting Take-Away

Overall Crime Down
We learned at tonight’s CAPS meeting that overall crime in our area is down 3% from this time last year. But with recent strong-arm robberies and burglaries, some in attendance said they felt less safe and secure than in the past. The big take-away from tonight’s special meeting was that South Loop residents should not be afraid to call 911 when confronted with suspicious activity.

For District 1 information, including news and services provided, click here.

Ole' Hardwood Fire Deemed "Incendiary"

Ole' Hardwood, the short-lived gastro-smokehouse that went up in flames on December 30, 2010 seemed suspicious from the start. Barely open for three months in a location that saw two previous restaurants come and go in as many years, Ole' Hardwood took a pounding from local restaurant critics shortly before the fire.

Ole' Hardwood boarded up after fire damaged it December 30, 2010.

The fire is now considered incendiary according to a report at the Chicago Journal Web site. The investigation of the restaurant at 1315 S. Wabash has been turned over to the Chicago Police Department Bomb and Arson Unit, according to Quentin Curtis, spokesman for the Chicago Fire Department.

Utopia opened and closed in 2010.

Ole Hardwood Owner, Julius Thomas owned two other restaurants at the 1315 S Wabash address: Exposure Tapas opened and closed in 2009 and Utopia opened and closed in 2010.