12 years of safe family fun at the 79th Street Renaissance Festival

Wait just one minute–summer is not quite over yet! I mentioned it in a previous post and the time has finally arrived. This Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10, The Greater Auburn Gresham Development Council (GAGDC) will host this year’s 12th Annual 79th Street Renaissance Festival. This year will mark my fourth visit to... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
September 7, 2017 at 2:04 pm • 

Did we get our fire truck at the block party?

Private note to U.L. subscribers: Happy Labor Day Weekend!  If yours was even half as fun as mine then I’m sure you had a blast.  I’ve been off the grid all weekend and I’m gearing up to get back into the work routine tomorrow. I just wanted to take a minute to let you know... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
September 4, 2017 at 9:18 pm • 

‘The Chicago Way’ to get a visit from a fire truck

‘The Chicago Way’ to get a visit from a fire truck
. Read: Dancing on the pole to boost my block club? Starting from a foundation of mutual affection and respect, club members laugh a lot and razz each other constantly.  One member we’ll call “Roger” poked fun with a respectable and highly respected retiree in her 70s.  A fancy sports car drove down our street... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
September 1, 2017 at 10:00 am • 
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Dancing on the pole to boost my block club?

Dancing on the pole to boost my block club?
. Subtitle: How an unfortunate rumor got started (Caution to more sensitive readers.  And to anyone with good taste.) . So, our block club was having a planning meeting to get ready for our annual block party when someone asked the perennial question: how can we increase our chances of a visit by a Chicago... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
September 1, 2017 at 2:29 am • 

Blogapalooza: Choose just one you say? I laugh in the face of your expectations

August Blogapalooza Topic: (Ohhh, you won’t believe this one.  Just keep reading.) Many readers might be familiar with the Chicago Now exercise called “Blogapalooza.”  This monthly challenge is open to any Chicago Now blogger who chooses to participate.  The only stipulation is that once you step up and say you’ll do it, you’re supposed to... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
August 30, 2017 at 10:09 pm • 

Thanks to those who read these posts and teach me things

Good evening to anyone who is listening, Just want to let you know that I’m home working on my Monday night post.  I won’t be able to publish it tonight because there is a planned outage of the system we use (I think for routine maintenance?).  The outage is set for 9pm and we don’t... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
August 28, 2017 at 8:58 pm • 
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The best time of year for updating your windows

The best time of year for updating your windows
I suspect it’s only rained two times in Chicago since Jan. 1 (slight exaggeration?) and both of those times were nights I planned to go to Ravinia.  I have big San Andreas Fault-type cracks in my lawn (seriously) because it’s been so dry the last few weeks. But the 2nd time I pointed my car in that direction... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
August 21, 2017 at 8:00 pm • 

Section 8 vouchers: Do shady participants equal a bad program?

One of the great longtime subscribers to this blog, Anneliese, reached out to me via email about my recent post “Chicago’s ‘Ending Veterans Homelessness Initiative.'”  She had some questions about the Sec 8/Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program and rental vouchers in general.  Anneliese made some great points and raised some great questions, so I asked... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
August 19, 2017 at 1:00 pm • 

The magical mystical Cook County Land Bank lures homebuyers

The magical mystical Cook County Land Bank lures homebuyers
. . . . . . . . . . . Check out my previous post on the CCLBA: “Wait, did you say you just WAIVED all the taxes?   The Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) site even goes so far as to suggest sources of down payment assistance for first time homebuyers.  By... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
August 16, 2017 at 8:10 am • 
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Chicago's "Ending Veterans Homelessness Initiative"

More than just being a landlord, I’m a person who is interested both in information science and broader issues related to housing.  So I have the privilege of being on a lot of listservs.  Recently I received the following evite: The Ending Veterans Homelessness Initiative cordially invites you to the Veterans HOUSING FAIR Friday, August... Read more »
By Rooted in Chicago,
August 14, 2017 at 11:57 pm •