Updates!

Upcoming Events:  Pivot Arts Festival   

This Saturday, May 30, residents are invited to come and participate in Edgewater's first parade featuring large-scale puppets designed by Swift School. The Parade begins at 1 pm at Granville and Kenmore then proceeds up Kenmore to Loyola University's St. Ignatius Plaza, where there will be a full afternoon of entertainment, including a headline performance by Grammy-nominated rocker Justin Roberts. Take the kids to Lifeline Theatre's musical version of The Three Little Pigs at 11am before the parade or the hilarious sketch comedy show for all ages, Bri-Ko, immediately following at 4 pm at Loyola's Mundelein Center for the Arts, 1020 W. Sheridan Rd.

Note: Kenmore will be closed for the parade from 11 am to 2:30 pm Saturday and the festival will continue on Loyola University's plaza. Go to pivotarts.org/festival for details on the parade and festival, including ticket reservations. 

Running through June 7 at various locations in Edgewater and Uptown, The Pivot Arts Festival includes over 20 performances of theater, music, dance, spoken word, clowning and comedy in Edgewater and Uptown with programming for adults and children of all ages. The festival ends at 11 am on June 7 at Lickity Split Custard & Sweet Shop with a performance of Storytown Improv.  

Public Safety Update 

 

We have been informed that the subject of an overnight fatal shooting on the 4800 block of Kenmore was Shaquon Thomas, who lived at 6319 N. Lakewood.  Mr. Thomas was the intended target in the shooting on Devon last summer and hosted the party that was the subject of police action on Lakewood a couple of weeks ago.  That is all we know at this point.

And, a further update from the Alderman's Office is available here. 

 

Zoning Adjustment Approved

As you know, our ENN Block Club held a special meeting on Wednesday, May 20th to vote on the zoning adjustment request from the project developers for the 13W. Devon Ave. building project. This zoning adjustment would change the required distance from the alley border to the building border for both buildings from 30ft to 22ft.   The 13 members of our ENN Block Club in attendance voted to approve the zoning adjustment request.  A letter to that effect was sent to the Alderman's office.

 

Save the Date

 

Tuesday, July 21st is ENN's annual picnic meeting.  Come and meet your neighbors in ENN. Time and location information to follow.  

 

Another Special Meeting

Dear ENN members,
We have been asked to hold another special meeting regarding the commercial/residential development “Luxury Apartments” at 1301 W. Devon Ave. 

The special meeting will be held: Wednesday, May 20th, 7pm, at 6247 N. Lakewood Ave. (the home of Nancy Schroeder and Larry Ebert).

ENN May 20th Special Meeting Agenda:
1) Patrick Thompson (Manske•Dieckmann•Thompson, 4619 North Broadway), project developer at 1301 W. Devon Ave;
Dan Luna (48th Ward Alderman Chief of Staff)

Patrick Thompson/1301 W. Devon Ave. project developer is requesting an adjustment from the City's zoning department to reduce the rear yard requirement, which is measured as the distrance from the alley between Lakewood and Wayne to the residential buildings on either side. This requires notification to the neighbors immediately to the south as well as the Alderman’s office. They have received letters of approval from both neighbor buildings.   However, Alderman Osterman requested that they meet with the ENN Block Club to describe and clarify their request to confirm they have the ENN support by a block club vote.

 As you may recall, Patrick Thompson first presented the proposed development to ENN at the November 10th, 2014 meeting. Both Patrick Thompson and Dan Luna (48th Ward Alderman Chief of Staff) will both be in attendance.

We also want to let you know that we have been in contact with Alderman Osterman's office to request information on the gunshot/barricade/arrest situation at 6319 N. Lakewood Ave. overnight May 9/10th 2015.   We have also requested current information on the status of the building as we understand that it is in foreclosure.  Initially there was a fair amount of misinformation on the incident.  We now know that it began when people attending a party in the building began to harrass police who were making a traffic stop in front of the building.  Shots were fired somewhere in the back of the building and police mistakenly believed that the shots were fired at them.  The people at the party barricaded themselves in and would not allow the police entry.  It was resolved peacefully some hours later with the arrest of 31 people.  We are attempting to determine the status of those arrested and to confirm whether or not the resident of building who was the intended target of last year's shooting on Devon and Glenwood was involved in the situation.

We will keep you updated on this as soon as we get informaiton. 

An Update from the Alderman

The following is an except from Alderman Osterman's weekly newsletter in case you have not seen it.  They were working with the police and the Law Department last week to collect accurate information and determine what action would be taken.  The "known gang member" is the same person who was was the target when the young man was shot on Devon last summer.  

Last weekend, 31 individuals were arrested at 6319 N. Lakewood Ave. Police were present at the address around 11:20 pm. Friday as they initiated a traffic stop of a van parked in front. Shortly after, officers believed they heard shots coming from the alley. Subjects were observed running from the alley into the apartment building. After observing the individuals, believing they may be involved with the shots fired, officers attempted a follow-up during which the subjects refused to exit an apartment. Believing there was a weapon involved, officers requested SWAT assistance. The standoff ended several hours later. All 31 people involved have been charged with disorderly conduct.

 

One of the suspects in this incident is a known gang member from our area. He is currently in custody as a result of an outstanding warrant for an unrelated charge, and he has an extensive record with numerous arrests and convictions. I have spoken to the assistant state's attorney in charge of this case, and she will be reviewing all possible avenues to prosecute this individual to the fullest extent of the law.

 

The City's Law Department had an ongoing investigation at this location prior to this incident. The department will be filing new charges against this building and its owners on violations of drug and gang housing and building code ordinances. The first hearing related to this matter will be on June 11; we will pass along details as they become available. A full building inspection by the City will coincide with the police investigation. We will provide more information once the ongoing investigation concludes. We welcome neighbors and advocates to join us in court for this hearing.

 

If you have seen or heard anything that can aid the police in their investigation, please contact Area North Detectives at (312) 744-8263 or call my office. We will be following these cases in both criminal and housing court. If you are available for advocacy in either case, please contact Marko Zaric in my office at Marko@48thward.org (mailto:Marko@48thward.org) or 773-784-5277

Unfortunate Excitement on Lakewood

Friends, once again we find one of our neighbors causing trouble.  I am sure there will be more on this, and a statement from the Alderman.  Watch this space.

SWAT TEAMS RESPOND TO INCIDENT ON IN EDGEWATER