Erik Island

There are so many wine and beer-tastings and networking events in Logan Square: whether you’re new to the area or a long-time resident, it’s hard to keep track of all the comings and goings. So where should you get your info, other than good old LoganSquarist?

The Taste of Logan Square, a brand-new event hosted by the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce (3147 W. Logan Blvd.), happens Oct. 22. And due to the popularity of their gatherings, the event sold out almost immediately around mid-September.

But don’t worry—it’s just one of the many events held throughout the year, sampling drinks and “bite-sized items” from such up-and-coming places as BiXi Beer, Merchant, and Papa Cenar.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to schmooze or you’re a business person looking to make new contacts, then The Logan Square Chamber of Commerce is a great resource.

While the name might sound as imposing, like some Iron Bank of Braavos, they’re actually a really friendly group of civic-minded people who contribute to the commercial unity and personality of Logan Square.

I recently spoke to Jessica Wobbekind, the executive director of the LSCC, and asked her what the Chamber of Commerce is, and what it provides for the neighborhood:

“The Chamber is a membership organization that exists to support, promote and advocate for the local business community,” Wobbekind said. “We work for economic development that preserves and enhances all that makes Logan Square the neighborhood we love. “

The LSCC has many events that are fun and informative for everyone, touching on subjects like finding affordable healthcare, informal meetings with the local police department, and conflict management training.

My first interaction with the LSCC was at one of their partnerships with the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce Networking Mixer, one of their many team-ups with WPBCC.

It was a great introduction to both organizations because I got to talk with local vendors face-to-face, hand out business cards and meeting interesting-yet-laid-back people who are also on their grind. For a mere $10 entry fee I learned a lot and I made quite a few friends that night.

It was also Jessica’s first year as Executive Director. It’s been two years this month, and she’s loving every minute of it. “What I enjoy so much is that it’s a little bit of everything,” she tells me. “(The) strategic planning, community and economic development– but also the super fun things, such as public art installation, pedestrian and bicycle safety initiatives, event planning: even a huge (Logan Square) Farmers Market!

The Logan Square Farmers Market is a vibrant and vital extension of the LSCC. In the spring and summer, it’s abuzz with sounds, smells, live music and friendly dogs at its outdoor location across the street from the Logan Square Monument. It’s something we all can say makes our community a vibrant place!

In the fall and winter season, the market is cozily placed inside Emporium (2363 N. Milwaukee Ave.), a great place to come in from the cold and get fresh veggies, try new cuisine and play arcade games.

While meeting with Wobbekind at last week’s Farmers Market I got to meet Rosie Fitz,
market manager of the Logan Square Farmers Market. And the three of us agree that the fall season rocks in Logan Square. As much as we all enjoy warm weather, the fall colors make for a stunning backdrop.

“As the market manager, I have to say my favorite event is the outdoor season of the market,” Fitz said. “Especially during the later months in fall. Most farmers set up “tentless” and all of the fall crops look stunning on the boulevard.”

A Logan Square native since she was “a tot”, this is Rosie’s 4th year with the LSCC, specifically managing the Logan Square Farmer’s Market.

“Seeing pups in their sweaters, kids in their coats, and farmers in their Carhartt gear– I love it all. It’s so fun to watch everyone prepare for the winter and embrace the bounty of the fall.”

So if you want to cure your FOMO in whatever season you’re into, follow the LSCC on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about their many networking events, and check out the Logan Square Farmers Market.

Featured photo: Erik Island

I am a child of humble Chicago retail folk: I proudly worked at Marshall Field’s, as did my father, and his mother before him. People who work in retail, or have at least worked one shift during the Christmas season, know one thing: Many consumer products are basically high-priced junk, fodder for landfills.

So I think there’s no shame in bringing home the occasional found object from the alley. And Logan Square is a treasure trove of unwanted furniture, clothes, and objet d’art. Before the bedbug outbreak of ’09, people in this neighborhood had a rule: if it’s in the dumpster, it’s trash. If it’s dumpster-adjacent, Febreze that bad boy and lift with the legs.

Shows like “American Pickers” and “Antiques Roadshow” are still going strong and businesses making furniture out of reclaimed wood are booming.

We live in an age where found and recycled objects are a source of conversation as well as pride. We have emerged from the crass, soulless consumerism of the ’80s and ’90s and entered the artsy-fartsy era of DIY chic.

Heck yeah, I found my couch next to a dumpster, threw a $39 Damask Jacquard slipcover over it and gave it polished brass legs that I got from Home Depot. Where’d you get your sofa—from some kind of magical store that sells furniture?

“We see a lot in the streets and alleyways”, said Scott Jaburek, the 35th Ward Superintendent of Streets and Sanitation. “I once picked up a 6-foot banana leaf plant off the curb, right before the trucks were coming for it. I still have that plant.”

With a new generation of earth-friendly residents in the area, recycling is taken seriously nowadays. There are Facebook Community Pages full of posts where people can score perfectly good U-Haul boxes, stacked neatly in a pile for someone to use or at least recycle for spare change.

Our custom of offering up and reusing free swag via social media is not only neighborly—it’s also responsible:

Chicagoans dump more than 800,000 tons of garbage into their black city garbage bins every year, That trash is then transferred to four landfills used by the city of Chicago, according to a WTTW article.

As of 2017, Chicago’s recycling rate of 9 percent is the worst in the nation, with at least five other cities in Illinois failing to meet the average U.S. recycling rates, WTTW wrote.

Speaking of Facebook: from Avondale to Wicker Park, people all over are asking, where are all of these abandoned shoes in the middle of the street coming from—is it the rapture? Thanos snap?

Other than “discarded karma,” the answer is elementary: It’s 3 a.m. and you’re walking home from the bars because you refuse to pay for an Uber. And you’ve had like, 15 wines. Some of y’all might have been so drunk, you just stepped out of those fashionable-yet-uncomfortable shoes of yours and staggered home barefoot.

In a city where people basically chug Malort (whose main ingredient can also be found in Absinthe), enjoy your Hot Girl Summer but don’t be shocked when you can’t find your shoes in the morning. You may laugh out loud at the photos of orphaned shoes on Facebook, but inwardly you’re either thinking “Are those mine?” or “Are those my size?”

As Marie Kondo has taught us, people tend to have an emotional attachment to their possessions: even if they no longer need that tattered old wicker lawn chair, they secretly hope that it will find its way into the hands of someone who will use it and love it as much as they did. And someone else will see that chair and think that it’s perfect for them, or they just can’t stand the thought of it ending up in a dumping ground.

So if you wake up on Monday morning with a hangover, wondering where your new shoes have gone, take comfort in the fact that they will probably “spark joy” on someone else’s feet.

Thanks to the Logan Square Community Facebook Page and the many members who let me use their photos:

• Lindsay Robinson
• Jessica Miller
• Megan Vandehey
• Monica Vasquez

Featured Photo: Monica Vasquez

Eric Heineman, CEO of Windfree Solar, is enthusiastic about solar power. And he’s eager to convert as many houses in Logan Square as possible, brazen enough to leave one of his custom door hangers on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s front door. He tried to, that is, before her house-security detail gave us a polite but stern “Nu-uh”.

As the former sustainability director for the State of Illinois under Governor Pat Quinn, Heineman knows about timing and strategy.

“Sunday afternoons are the best times for the press to approach a politician at home. Plus, I have friends in the area that have been to cookouts at her house,” Heineman said. “We’ll make it happen.”

It was easy to follow a fellow Eric up to her house, a one-man marketing machine in his electric car, with examples of solar panels for people to hold in their hands.

Photos: Erik Island

Solar power isn’t a new idea. President Jimmy Carter had 32 solar panels installed on the roof of the White House in 1978, only to be removed by President Regan in 1986. According to Dale Petroskey, President Reagan’s press secretary, “Putting them back up would be very unwise, based on cost, he said in, per Yale Climate Connections.

The oil shortage of the ’70s had ended, and America’s attention turned away from climate change. And so began the suppression of solar power, as explained in the documentary “A Road Not Taken” by Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller and lampooned by “The Simpsons.”

“I have no doubt that we will be successful in harnessing the sun’s energy. … If sunbeams were weapons of war, we would have had solar energy centuries ago.”

Sir George Porter, 1973

Slowly but surely, however, solar power and wind power have been making a comeback in popularity. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) report, “Renewable energy, including solar and wind, provided 23% of US electricity generation during April, compared with coal’s 20%.”

Windfree Solar has been busy installing solar panels across Illinois: Windfree Solar currently employs 22 workers who installed over 2,000 kW of solar power in 2018. Since its founding in 2009, the company has completed more than 400 certified installations, including solar panels on the Governor’s Mansion while Governor Quinn was in office. There are a great many solar-power-related jobs and tax incentives available to Illinois as well.

The company’s first installment took place 10 years ago at Burr Elementary School in Chicago’s Bucktown-Wicker Park neighborhood. The cost was less than $12,000 for installation, plus a wind turbine and solar panels. Since then, the company has installed solar in several Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs.

In 2016, Windfree Solar installed solar panels at the not-so-new anymore “L” luxury apartments (2211 N. Milwaukee Ave.) that have a CTA car inside them. Heineman said the panels are 16.8 kW Thin Film system, which is one of the more advanced newer technology that the company uses when customers don’t want to puncture their roof with attachments (this just sticks on). It is the same efficiency as traditional solar PV.

Photos: Windfree Solar

“Every 24 hours, enough sunlight touches the Earth to provide the energy for the entire planet for 24 years.”

(Martha Maeda, How to Solar Power Your Home)

Other business in Logan also have invested in solar panels. Take, for example, Father and Son’s delivery truck: The mobile pizza truck has solar panels on top that help it deliver its popular pizzas and other food.

While doing my own research, I asked Heineman about the lawsuit between Walmart, Inc. and Tesla Inc. In late August, Walmart sued for a breach of contract and gross negligence after rooftop solar panel systems on seven of the retailer’s stores allegedly caught fire, according to a filing. But just three days after the lawsuit was filed, the two parties appear to be trying to work things out.

“The press love to rag on Tesla, mostly because it’s easy to do,” Heineman said. “Solar installations generally are safe, and we have never had a fire from an installation that we installed since we were founded in 2009. The Solar industry in Illinois is highly regulated and we have to pass many local inspections and utility approvals to install every project.”

There’s so much information about solar power and it’s future, and Windfree Solar is a great place to start.

You can contact Eric Heineman through his website, Windfree.us or call for a free evaluation at (312)-588-6953.
Or talk to him in person at the Whiskey Acres Distilling Co. Networking Event on Sept. 28.

Featured Photo: Erik Island

When I first moved to Logan Square 13 years ago, I learned two things: One, be nice to your local tamale vendor and, two, always take a photo of your favorite mural or art installation—because one day one or the other it might disappear.

Neighborhoods like Logan Square have a vibrant history, home to many artists and musicians. But in the face of gentrification and the real estate gold rush, there is so much great art out there that is gone in a flash, never to be seen again.

Logan Square Preservation protects the classic, Norwegian-inspired architecture and keeps our elegant skyline from being obliterated by high-rises. Now there may be a city-wide solution to protecting the art on the street level.

Photos: Erik Island

Recently, the Chicago Cultural Affairs Department created the Mural Registry. Murals that are accepted into the registry are assigned a unique Mural Registration ID with an official City of Chicago emblem. The registry is a permanent complement to the “Year of Public Art” in 2017.

“Not only will the new registry help protect these critical cultural assets, it will also create a portal for the public to access and explore where murals are located in every corner of the city,” Mark Kelly, Commissioner of the Department for Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) told WTTW.

Over the past three or four decades, street art and graffiti have grown past their negative connotations: from presidential campaign posters to album covers to t-shirts, street art has gone from counterculture to mainstream couture. Gabriel “Flash” Carrasquillo Jr. of FLASH ABC, is the curator of Project Logan. Project Logan is a sanctioned wall between the Logan Square and California Blue Line stop, allowing local Grafitti artists a place in the neighborhood to show their skills. And thanks to social media, more artists can now preserve and promote their work online. Mural artists like Ali_Six and Darius Dennis have their work on the street, in stores and public spaces as far as Puerto Rico.

“I don’t like that murals will have to have a city emblem on them to mark them as ‘sanctioned,” artist Penny Pinch mused. “But I do appreciate that something is being done to make sure that art continues to thrive in the city.”

After several city cleaning crews have inadvertently destroyed many classic murals around town, the registry is a step forward in protecting public artwork, though the age-old discussion of “art vs. graffiti” becomes a conversation that eventually boils down to classism vs. personal taste. Some artists are open to the idea of registration, though guardedly.

“As long as the registry remains optional, free, and unbiased—for now it seems to be all of those—I can’t find a reason to complain,” said prolific local artist Nick “Sick” Fisher. “I just hope that it stays true to its goals of protection and promotion of the arts, not a bureaucratic distinction of what is art and what is not.”

Photos: Erik Island

So far there are no murals in Logan Square on the Registry. But many artists that have contributed to the neighborhood, such as the “I Am Logan Square” Mural by Sam Kirk and Sandra Antongiorgi, have other works that are registered. In mid-July, several local artists held a panel discussion called “Gentrification Without Displacement”, moderated by members of Heaven Gallery, the Corner Project, and the Chicago Artists Coalition.

There are many discussions happening throughout the neighborhood: long-time residents are being priced out and redevelopments are tearing away at buildings where the murals are painted, so many people are anxious about Logan Square’s future. It’s early days and the number of citywide murals is few, but a step in any direction, however slow and clunky, is better than no action at all.

The public has a right to art. The public is being ignored by most contemporary artists… Art is for everybody.”

Keith Haring, Keith Haring Journals

Though some of these murals are new, historic and some are even gone, you can still check out their artwork:

• Quincy Jones mural by Cobre, Welcome to Chicago mural by Victor Ving & Lisa Beggs (photo by Sarah Sansom
• Nair Jordan, Hanksy
• You Are Beautiful window display, You Are Beautiful
• Dali Mural, Werm312, Kustom Art Studios
• Logan Square Chicago, Frank Quintero, Photo by Liz Pompe
• Temple of the Dog & Meow Lounge storefront, Nick Fisher
• Stickers by Penny Pinch
• Milwaukee Ave Mural, Ali_Six
• “I Am Logan Square” Mural by Sam Kirk and Sandra Antongiorgi

Featured photo: Sarah Sansom

One of my friends recently declared on Facebook, “I am officially anti-scooter.” And she’s not alone… social media is ablaze with e-scooter hatred as if people were putting ketchup on a Chicago hot dog. I watched an episode of South Park dealing with the electric shared scooter epidemic last year. Six months later, Chicagoans are talking about the barbarians at the gate, with 10 new companies entering the city this summer.

It seems to be the consensus that the real problem is the riders, not necessarily the scooters themselves. Strewn all over people’s lawns and blocking doorways, it’s easy to see why people see scooters as unpopular and cumbersome. Yet e-scooters and electric bikes are growing in popularity, and curiosity is overcoming the bad press. 

I myself have been dying to test one of these bad boys out, and I saw my chance at the Liberty Bank 500 E-Scooter Race, held in the Liberty Bank parking lot last Thursday night, announced on Instagram.

Orchestrated by Derek Erdman, a local artist, the Liberty Bank 500 E-Scooter Race was a fun way to bring locals together and get a conversation going. Excited, people waited in their cars or under bus awnings for the rain to pass, just to participate or try a scooter out, doing 12 loops around the empty lot to win the race.

To quote Ricky Bobby from the movie Talladega Nights, “If you ain’t first you’re last”. Well, I came in dead last, but at least there wasn’t a Nascar-style explosion. For my first time on an e-scooter, I think I did pretty well… Even though I totally wiped out in the 10th lap and broke my glasses.

As I walked home (okay, limped home), I replayed the evening in my head: Maybe I shouldn’t have been in a race my first time on an e-scooter. Maybe I shouldn’t have raced on a rain-soaked surface, is it had just stopped raining ten minutes ago. And maybe I shouldn’t try to keep up with a young lady who takes turns like a BMX Bandit and is literally dressed like the devil. Honestly, watching Ashley Armitage blow past me in the third lap, I felt like a rube at a poker game who’s barely good at UNO.

Photos: Erik Island

I should tell you, I’m not even a bicycle person… My idea of extreme sports is riding the 62 Kimball Bus to the South Side after 11 pm. But scooter racing was worth it, racing around milk cartons while the California Blue Line train roared overhead. And I am definitely going to do it again. I just had to be smarter about it next time.

The next day I learned that Lime Scooters was having its “First Ride Academy” series on Saturday at Palmer Square Park, the first of many events happening every Saturday until the end of July. The signup and orientation begin in front of St. Sylvester School (3027 W. Palmer Square Ave.), across the street.

Their campaign, along with community outreach, is geared towards teaching people to ride safely and (yes!) park responsibly. So I iced my knee, superglued my glasses back together and prepared to check it out. (Note: This is not an ad for Lime e-scooters, nor do I work for any scooter company.)

Cesar Cardona, a Lime scooter city launcher, got us in helmets and safety vests, then he demonstrated how the scooter works and gent over the safety precautions and Rules of the Road. After fielding questions from the group, we talked about how he deals with people’s disdain for the scooters. Cardona, who has overseen Lime Training Academies all over Latin America, dismisses the negative comments with a shrug.

Photos: Erik Island

“People say they don’t like broccoli,” said Cardona. “Have you tried it, or are you just saying you don’t like it without trying it?” 

Sheree’ Patton, a Lime scooter community organization manager, was there to answer questions and help people sign up for discounted rides via Lime Access. Sheree’ Patton travels the world promoting Lime scooters, eager to engage with people and soften the already negative electric scooter image.

“We’re super interested in the community, especially in low-income areas where we offer discounted rides and job training placement programs,” Patton said of the program. “Also, look at the different age groups here, so many adults—it shows that the interest in e-scooters isn’t just kids.”

Patton even brought some of her family members in from North Carolina to join in the fun.

This past spring, Chicago’s Transportation and Mobility Task Force recommended Chicago look to micro mobility, like scooters, to provide more transportation options to underserved neighborhoods and increase first- and last-mile options. This is particularly important to connect workers to manufacturing jobs in Chicago. Right now, many of Chicago’s manufacturing jobs are located in areas that lack transit options, including some in the pilot area like the Near West Side, the Little Village, South Austin and West Garfield Park, according to Lime’s training academy press release.

Lime let us keep our helmets, which the company is giving away for free at these training sessions to ensure safety is the top priority. So far, they have given away 200 helmets.

For my first time taking a scooter onto the street, it was a huge adrenaline rush, breezing down Kedzie Avenue in the bright sunshine. And I felt more secure riding in a group with other newbies. With Cardona looking after us like a mother duck walking her ducklings into a lake for their first swim, giving us instruction the whole time, we were in good hands.

Photos: Erik Island

Despite the lazy placement of scooters all over town, the scooter apps instruct people to park the scooter in an upright position, out of the way of walkways and doorways. I’ve signed up for three different scooter apps, and the instructions are clear—even requiring you to take a photo of the parked scooter. When deciding where to park, as Patton told us, it’s a matter of common courtesy.

“If I was a pedestrian or if I was riding a bike, I wouldn’t want a scooter in my way,” she said.

No matter what your opinion of e-scooters and electric bicycles are, they’re here to stay (for now). But the good news is that, in time, things will get better. Like with pedaled bicycles, there will eventually be a standard of road etiquette. And soon enough, winter will come and squash all of our joy (sorry).

Those of you that are e-scooter curious, join Patton and Cesar at the Training Academy this Saturday, July 6, at the same location. Then come get your Fast N’ Furious fix at the next Liberty Bank 500 E-Scooter Race on July 25. And for goodness sake, get a safety helmet.

Kosciuszko Park received happy news this weekend of an upcoming makeover to its amenities.

Alderman Milly Santiago (31st Ward), in cooperation with the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Planning and Development, and the Chicago Park District will invest $1.8 million allocated from Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds for the renovation of Kosciuszko Park (2732 N. Avers Avenue).

The renovation will upgrade the benches so they are ADA accessible, get new turf for the soccer and baseball fields, redo the paint job on the playground and even add spray features for kids during the summer. The outdoor basketball court has not had hoops or been used in years and will be converted to an outdoor exercise station, according to the alderman. 

The public ceremony, complete with a giant check, was on Feb. 16. Local residents, kids, and dog owners were there in large numbers, discussing the future of the much-loved park. Hot coffee and treats were provided for people and dogs, rewarding us all for braving the afternoon chill. The consensus was that a modern, well-maintained dog park in the area is a much-needed and welcomed addition to the area.

“People have concerns about TIFs taking money from public facilities,” said Alderman Santiago in her official statement about the new park. “But this project is a clear testament of the use of TIF fund investments in our communities, especially for public parks.”

Photos: Erik Island

The Chicago Park District doesn’t fund dog parks, so a lot of the cleanup and upkeep has fallen to park staff and local community members. But the Kosciuszko Park Advisory Council joined forces with Santiago’s office to put the project on Santiago’s participatory budget list. The renovation includes a new dog park that will be built with the money from the alderman with upkeep from community members and volunteers who pushed for the dog-friendly area.

“We are pleased to have this opportunity to renovate an already vibrant park and to upgrade the park features that our residents use to stay engaged and active,” said Chicago Park District General Superintendent Michael Kelly in a statement.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Speaking of history, many of the attendees have either lived near the park or used its facilities for upwards of 35 years.

Liz Muscare, Vice President of the Avondale Neighborhood Association, has a great deal of family history with the park, going back three generations.

“My sister was the first girl to be allowed to play football,” Liz recalls. “Back then my father had to petition them for permission.”

Photos: Erik Island

A neighborhood fixture since 1914, Kosciuszko (Koz) Park is in dire need for renovation for the numerous services they provide. Though clean and cared for by very dedicated staff, the building has some plumbing, infrastructure and landscaping issues, as well as lacking basic sports equipment.

Koz park has many swimming, water polo, and Special Olympics events year-round, with Spring registration starting Feb. 25. There’s a number of adult classes, along with child care and after-school programs. With two gymnasiums and an auditorium for theatrical performances and private parties, Kosciuszko Park is a priceless asset, and soon its value and contributions to the community will only increase.

Photos: Erik Island

For more information, check out Kosciuszko Park on the Chicago Park District website or follow their Advisory Council on Facebook. You can also follow Alderman Milly Santiago on her website or her Facebook Page.