Oysters - To Chew or Spit at Heartland Cafe

A popular restaurant in Rogers Park was shut down for filth and vermin by city inspectors this morning, but not a word from "The Urban Coaster" tabloid. (See post below this one for that story.) The Urban Coaster claims to present "all the news that fits the neighborhood." So where is The Urban Coaster today on the story of the Heartland Cafe's multiple health code violations already getting moldy? They're nowhere. The Urban Coaster, apparently, doesn't feel that news of a local public health threat "fits" the neighborhood. That's especially true for the socialist propaganda rag because the owners of the Heartland are politically cozy with the UC's gang of three, Jim Ginderske, Tom Westgard and Francis Scumellari. Two of Heartland Cafe's partners, Michael James and Katy Hogan, are self-avowed socialists and are politically sympathetic to The Urban Coaster's far-left writing. The Urban Coaster's food columnist seems to be ignoring the Heartland Cafe story too, which is especially odd since he writes a food column for the Coaster and is himself the owner of a little catering company. Terry "The Chef" Feingold wrote a glowing report about oysters being served at the officially filthy, vermin-infested Heartland Cafe recently. Here's a snippet: The subject of oysters comes up recently because one of our neighborhood restaurants, the Heartland Café (7000 N. Glenwood Ave.), has been offering fresh, plump, delicious Blue Point oysters on the half-shell on Friday evenings for about four weeks now. Stop on by the Buffalo bar through April to get a taste for yourself. Terry knows well the patron reactions because he shucked about one hundred of those oysters on the first night they were presented for sale (Michael James’ birthday). Terry also polished off a few himself.. Full column... Feingold did not say whether he had to spit mouse droppings as he stuffed those oysters into his pie hole. Perhaps he thought the rodent feces added a certain, delicate je ne se qua. There are a couple of odd things about Feingold's column. First, Feingold is Jewish and claims to steer away from pork, so it's odd that he's eating and waxing poetic about oysters, which are also a no-no for Jewish people who adhere to Kosher food laws as Feingold claims to. Second, Feingold should have a food safety certification from the City of Chicago as required for caterers, yet somehow his expert eye missed all the mouse shit that has been, according to the City of Chicago Department of Health, nicely distributed throughout the restaurant. When can we expect The Urban Coaster to present this important story about a public health threat to Rogers Park, the neighborhood they claim to serve? RELATED: Sweetheart Run overall winner Jesus "Chuy" Mendoza (written by Michael James, co-owner of the filthy, contaminated Heartland Cafe) Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Cool Stuff...

(Updated) NHRP Still "Not Good Standing" With Sec. of State

Update, May 22, 2010: The entity known as "Neighbors For A Healthy Rogers Park NFP" went through an "INVOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION" on May 8, 2009, about three months after this post was originally published. (Click images to enlarge them)

Bittersweet congratulations to The Urban Coaster, Inc. Finally, as of today [Feb. 11, 2009], they can legally call themselves a corporation, after months of falsely claiming to be incorporated. However, another one of Ginderske's operations is still "NOT GOOD STANDING" with the Illinois Secretary of State.

UPDATE, May 22, 2010: The Urban Coaster went through an Involuntary Dissolution, on March 12, 2010.

Yep, The Urban Coaster is finally incorporated, but only after they paid the State of Illinois a $25.00 penalty for passing a bad check to them the first time they tried to incorporate.

Chicago News Bench spoke with the Secretary of State's office in Springfield today. We were told that The Urban Coaster's check for $200.00 "just cleared today" (Feb. 11, 2009). That check was for the initial $175.00 filing fee plus $25.00 to cover the bounced check penalty imposed by the state.

The initial filing attempt was in October, 2008. A Form BCA 2.10 Articles of Incorporation was filed on Oct. 27, 2008. The initial registered agent is James J. Ginderske (photo). For months, The Urban Coaster was not legally a corporation, yet deliberately passed themselves off as one. It was not until today that they could legally call themselves "The Urban Coaster, Inc."

Ginderske's other operation is "Neighbors For A Healthy Rogers Park NFP," also known as "NHRP." It is still not in good standing with the State of Illinois. Initial filing for that was in September, 2008. (Ginderske is misspelled as "Gindevske" on the Sec. of State's website.)

You can search for corporations and LLCs at the Illinois Secretary of State's website: http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/index.jsp

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Urban Coaster: Non-Local, Non-Union
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Smells Like Ginderske

I was looking at the campaign finances for Jim Ginderske's 2007 aldermanic campaign recently and something just didn't smell right. But then, Jim Ginderske exudes the odor of fraudulent misrepentation.

He continues to misrepresent two of his projects, "Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park" and "The Urban Coaster" as legitimate organizations, even though the Illinois Secretary of State states flatly that they are not what they claim to be.

When Ginderske was running his ill-fated campaign in Chicago's 49th Ward, I witnessed him receive a $250 check from a local union. It was all very hush-hush. Why? He didn't want it known that a certain individual had sent him the check.

More importantly, the guy who gave him the check didn't want it known. The check was from a local union, and I don't recall the signature on the check. The unions were all very afraid of incumbent tyrant Joe Moore, which is why Ginderske got almost nothing from them. They knew that any donation to Ginderske would show on a D2 reporting form, which would be seen by Moore.

The point here is that Ginderske received a check in the amount of $250 but it seems to be missing on both his Contributions List or his Itemized Contributions List as shown on the Illinois State Board of Elections web site.

Now, I'm not saying that the geniuses in the Ginderske 2007 scout troop did not report that $250 donation. It is possible, I suppose, that Jim Ginderske never even cashed it. Hell, he might even have returned it. I don't know what actually happened to that check, but it seems likely that the cash strapped candidate did cash it.

If that happened, it should be showing on at least one of those ISBE lists. We are right to be suspicious about the Ginderske campaign contributions reporting. After all, it was Ginderske and his campaign chair, Thomas J. Westgard, who were key players in a sham organization last year called "Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park" (NHRP).

That venture was dissolved by the Illinois Sec. of State for not properly filing its annual report. As of this writing at 2:00 a.m. on January 13, 2009, the Sec. of State shows NHRP's status as "NOT GOOD STANDING."

Yet Ginderske and his gang continue to pass off NHRP as a legitimate not-for-profit organization. More recently, another venture involving Ginderske and Westgard was never granted incorporation because - oops! - their filing fee check bounced in December, 2008. This venture is called "The Urban Coaster," a web site with a dead-tree version. Ginderske and his gang continue to falsely show themselves as "The Urban Coaster, Inc.," even though they are, in fact, not incorporated in Illinois - not under that name anyway.

As of this writing at 2:29 a.m. on January 13, 2009, the Sec. of State's web site still shows them as not incorporated. The reason stated: "UNACCEPTABLE PAYMENT 12 17 08." (Go here http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/ and search for "The Urban Coaster") Ginderske and Westgard have a demonstrable pattern of not filing official papers properly and of not handling money well. In fact, let's go full circle and return to the Ginderske 2007 campaign.

Seems they screwed up filing then, too. Again we go to the Illinois State Board of Elections, this time to search through "Fines Due and Owing."

There, we find this: 
Ginderske 2007 Imposed Date: 03/26/2007
Balance Due: $500.00
Report: Pre-election
Report Period End Date: 01/28/2007
Reason: 4 DAYS LATE - and -
Imposed Date: 10/25/2007
Balance Due: $2,600.00
Report: Semiannual
Report Period End Date: 06/30/2007
Reason: 52 DAYS LATE

The next aldermanic election will be in 2011. You can bet that Ginderske will run, and is in fact campaigning even now. Front groups such as The Urban Coaster and NHRP are nothing more than attempts to keep his name "out there," to maintain an organization of useful idiots, and ultimately transform those groups into a little campaign army. If Ginderske really wants to project himself as a bumbling idiot who lies about the legal status of his bogus organizations and cannot properly file papers or submit good checks for fee payments, he's doing one hell of a job. If he wants to project himself as a decent man with a good head on his shoulders, he couldn't have chosen a worse strategy.

RELATED: 
Ginderske Violating State Law
Another Sham Ginderske Organization (Updated)
Tom Westgard, Repeat Offender

Flashback: Joe Moore's Burning Pants

Like a psychopathic liar with no conscience, 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore just can't help telling falsehoods. He bends the truth, he rewrites history. This is Revolutionary Truth, it is, and badly practiced at that. After lying through 17 years as a member of the Chicago City Council, you'd think that a man like Democrat Joe Moore could apply his law degree to a perfected level of non-truthfulness. Nope, not our Joe. He's a serial liar. Thank goodness he's a clumsy serial liar. Let's dissect Moore's lie-packed email blast of August 5, 2008: Gale Community Center Now Open; Boys and Girls Club Still Looking for a Rogers Park Home Dear Neighbor, The Gale Community Center at Howard and Marshfield is now open. The 18,000-sqaure-foot Chicago Park District facility comes complete with a full-size gym, a fitness center and a large club room, which can be subdivided into two smaller rooms. "Now open," Moore writes. It opened last Sunday, August 3. It is weird for Moore to write this two days after the fact, given his fetish for ribbon cutting ceremonies. Why no ribbon cutting for this one? And why did this email suddenly appear within hours of The Broken Heart and then The Bench criticizing Moore's silence on the official opening of the embattled community center. The center will be open Monday through Friday from 12 Noon to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center will be closed on Sundays. The Community Center will be staffed and operated exclusively by the Park District. Moore writes that the center "will be open…" Unconscious slip? "Will be" is future tense. The correct phrasing should be "is open." Moore writes that the center "will be staffed…" but it should really say that the "Community Center is staffed…" Present tense should be used here, not future tense. The opening is the culmination of a twelve-year effort to bring to our neighborhood a community center that began when I secured a $500,000 commitment from the original developer of the Gateway Centre. Initially, many in the neighborhood envisioned the future Community Center as a Boys and Girls Club. When it became apparent that sufficient funds were not available to build and operate the center as a Boys and Girls Club, we turned our attention to the Park District, which agreed to underwrite a portion of the construction cost and operate the building as a Park District field house. Let's concentrate only on Moore's big lies here; there are too many in this bizarre Moore email to deal with in less than 20 pages, single spaced. A well-informed and trusted friend emailed this to The Bench today: "It seems Joe thinks he can write history to come out however he wants….Eva McAnn was part of a group that has been working for this Center for years and much of that work was started without the support of the Alderman’s office. In fact, it wasn’t until the group actually started to make things happen that Moore’s office got on board." Part of the above is such a fantastic falsehood that it bears repeating: "When it became apparent that sufficient funds were not available to build and operate the center as a Boys and Girls Club, we turned our attention to the Park District, which agreed to underwrite a portion of the construction cost and operate the building as a Park District field house." Wow! According to Moore's hastily written email, there was not enough money "to build and operate" the Gale center "as a Boys and Girls Club" (even though the concept, the designs and the construction contracts were already locked up before the Boys and Girls Club entered the picture). Consider this: Ben Jarovsky wrote that The Boys and Girls Club would have been paid $100,000 to operate the Gale Community Center. How would that have helped the budget problems that Moore alleges? (Moore and the Park District, by the way, were seemingly ready to allow that even though Park District contracts over $10,000 are requred to be open for bidding. There was no bidding process in this case.) The clincher, from my friend: "If Joe had [really] secured $500,000 for a Boys and Girls Club...why didn’t he mention that during the last campaign?" Excellent question, and in fact Joe Moore himself has said that this is not so. He has written and said publicly that it was not until former aldermanic challenger Jim Ginderske lost last year's election in February that Moore considered the Boys and Girls Club. Ginderske mentioned it a number of times during his campaign, and Moore has said that Ginderske came to him - after February 2007 - and proposed the Boys and Girls Club. As my friend wrote, "With Ginderske waving the Boys and Girls banner at nearly every debate there was plenty of opportunity for Joe to accuse him of stealing ideas and tell [Rogers Park voters] that efforts were already in place to bring a Boys and Girls Club here. Had he done that, he probably could have avoided a runoff." Moore never did so, of course, because he couldn't. So, once again is trying to rewrite history like an old school Soviet propagandist. Moore's email continues: There were times when it appeared the City and Park District were about to back away from their pledge to build the community center. But thanks to the efforts of my office and a coalition of community groups, we were able to hold the City and the Park District to their commitment. Is Moore accusing the City and Park District of backing out of a commitment made long before the Boys and Girls Club entered the picture? Moore repeats the lie about the origin of his involvement: The idea of the Gale Community Center as home to a Boys and Girls Club came full circle when the Cotter Boys and Girls Club mentioned to me last April that they were looking for a new home. Given that the Community Center had yet to be fully staffed and occupied, and given earlier public support for a Boys and Girls Club in Rogers Park, I believed it was an idea worth exploring. I raised the idea with Park District Superintendent Tim Mitchell, who expressed strong interest. Moore claims that "the Cotter Boys and Girls Club mentioned to me last April" that "they were looking for a new home." That may be so, but it would have happened only after Ginderske put the idea into Moore's head. As for the phrase "last April," I believe Moore's hastily written email should have said "two Aprils ago" or "April of 2007." To say "last April" in August means four months ago. I also shared the proposal with numerous residents and the leading community organizations in the area, nearly all of whom expressed strong support for the idea, including Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park, Dev Corp North, Gale Academy Principal Richard Glass, Family Matters Director Kim Delong, State Senator Heather Steans, and my former aldermanic opponent Jim Ginderske. They all agreed the Boys and Girls Club would bring to our local youth expanded programming and other enrichment activities, which the Park District currently does not provide. Gale Principal Glass, a Boys and Girls Club alumnus, was so excited about the proposal he offered Gale Academy as a satellite location to the Community Center. True to form, Moore keeps lying. "I also shared the proposal with….my former aldermanic opponent Jim Ginderske." It is well established that it was the other way around. Ginderske put the idea of a Boys and Girls Club into Moore's head after February, 2007. Under the shared-use proposal, the Park District and the Boys and Girls Club would have jointly operated the Community Center Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Center would have also been open on both Saturdays and Sundays. Programming for adults, as well as children, would have been offered. "Jointly operated," perhaps, but as noted above, it would have cost tax payers $100,000 a year for the contract with the Boys and Girls Club. (It's interesting to note, by the way, that the "non-profit" Boys and Girls Club's top executive is paid nearly a million dollars a year. Roxanne Spillett's compensation for doing "charity work" is listed at $972,908. Source: CharityReports.bbb.org. Does that sound like a "non-profit" to you?) In addition to expanding the Gale Center hours and staffing, the Boys and Girls Club would have brought to Rogers Park some of their renowned character building and leadership programs, such as the Keystone Teen Leadership Club, which takes teens on trips to cities as varied as Atlanta, Orlando, and Washington, D.C. The Boys and Girls Club also would have brought to Rogers Park mentoring and tutoring programs, such as their partnership with WGN-TV in which school age children and teens are paired with responsible caring adults who commit time each week to meet and work with the young people on school projects and homework assignments. As a result of these and other programs, nearly 90% of Cotter Boys and Girls Club members graduate from high school, a remarkable fete in a school system with a 50% graduation rate. Pants on fire. Ginderske, Moore's former opponent turned loyal lap dog, has been trotting out old and misleading information about the Boys and Girls Club, which Moore has been casually recycling. Ginderske has been pumping out trash information filtered through his tiny Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park (NHRP). NHRP presents itself as a legitimate non-profit, but it is neither. It has no official standing whatsoever, unless you consider that it was officially dissolved by the Illinois Secretary of State in May, 2008 for failure to file an annual report. NHRP, and Moore, are fond of repeating "an alumni survey conducted by Louis Harris and Associates for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America," which claims that "52 percent of respondents" said the clubs saved their lives, and several other minor miracles were cited as well. But it's fluff. Neither Ginderske nor Moore bothers to tell that the Harris survey was done in 1999, nearly a decade ago. NHRP and Moore will tell us that "an alumni survey by Lou Harris & Associates they determined that there are about 3.5 million Boys and Girls Club or Boys and Girls Club alumni in the United States" according to the Boys and Girls Club of Mount Vernon, NY. (See: "Ginderske: Sit Down, Shut Up") Okay, but of those 3.5 million alumni, Louis Harris and Associates polled only 1,592 Boys and Girls Club alumni." [Source] In other words, a miniscule 0.0455 percent (less than one half of one percent) of the 3.5 million BGCA alumni were polled! Ridiculous, especially when you consider that we are not told by Ginderske or anybody else where those alumni were living when they were polled a decade ago. Despite the benefits a Boys and Girls Club would bring to the neighborhood, a few vocal people began organizing against the Boys and Girls Club idea even before a formal proposal was presented to the neighborhood. A few of the skeptics had thoughtful concerns about the proposal, including concerns about the precedent of turning over the Community Center to a private entity. The supporters of the proposal and I attempted to address those concerns by amending the proposal to ensure the building would continue to be owned by the Park District and staffed by Park District employees. Blah blah blah. Moore is deliberately giving the false impression that the brand new Gale Community Center was the only option offered to the Boys and Girls Club. In fact, use of the Gale School was offered. They turned it down. However, as Chicago Reader reporter Ben Joravsky noted in his article, "Endless War," most of the opposition to the Boys and Girls Club appeared to be politically motivated. The opponents said they were not against a Boys and Girls Club in Rogers Park. Yet, they opposed the only plan with a funding source that made it possible for a Boys and Girls Club to locate here. In fairness to Joravsky, he also pointed out in his excellent Chicago Reader article that a lot of Moore's obfuscation and delays were politically motivated as well. As for Moore's statement that the community center was the "only plan with a funding source that made it possible for a Boys and Girls Club to locate here," well, those keeping score should now add another tally mark in the "Lies by Joe Moore" column. In the end, Park District officials simply did not have the stomach for a fight and decided instead to pursue a significantly scaled down version of the original Boys and Girls Club proposal. Rather than subsidize a permanent year-round Boys and Girls Club presence in Rogers Park, the Park District now says it may be willing to subsidize a summer program in 2009. In the end, actually, the SEIU and union types sympathetic to them pressured Moore and the Park District to back down. SEIU and other labor organizations have given Moore enormous campaign donations over the years, and the idea of Moore and the Park District bringin in non-union staff at the community center must have infuriated them. Furthermore, it would not be at all surprising if Moore got a late night phone call from Howard Dean at the DNC, during which Moore was told to back off and stop making an ass of himself if he still wants a job in Washington under the hoped-for administration of fellow Chicago Machine Democrat Barack Obama. I certainly support any kind of Boys and Girls Club presence in Rogers Park, even a limited summer program. But I'm extremely disappointed that our children will miss out on all the many benefits and opportunities that a year-round club would bring. Boo frikkin' hoo. There are several free libraries within walking distance of Rogers Park residents. The wonderful beaches nearby are free. Board games and hopscotch and television are accessible to all. To be bored in Chicago is to be totally lacking in imagination. To tell us that The Children Will Now Suffer because there will be no Boys and Girls Club in the Gale Community Center is to insult all of us with a cynical, exaggerated, callous, politically motivated lie. It's a miracle that Moore hasn't resorted yet to calling opponents to installing the Boys and Girls Club in the community center racists (as Mayor Daley has called opponents to the ongoing effort to ram the Children's Museum into Grant Park). In the coming months, I will redouble my efforts to bring a full-time Boys and Girls Club to the 49th Ward, and I invite everyone, including those who opposed the Boys and Girls Club at the Community Center, to work with me to identify a funding source and location for such a club. So, as with all the man hours Joe Moore has wasted on (a) drafting the foie gras ordinance and then (b) defending the foie gras ordinance, Moore now pledges to waste more man hours in order to "redouble" his efforts to bring in the Boys and Girls Club. He's been in office for 17 years. He was in office for 15-16 years, apparently, before he ever gave serious consideration to a Boys and Girls Club. We pay this schmuck over a hundred grand a year for this crap. Why the belated interest? Why the "redoubling" of effort? What's really in it for Joe Moore? Moore signed off with "sincerely." You think he's sincere? SEIU no longer does, nor do other attentive brothers and sisters in the labor community. Many Rogers Park residents have had their eyes opened by this experience and now regret voting Moore into another term last year. The DNC is sincerely looking at Moore with growing skepticism, wondering whether it's worth all the effort and expense to keep picking up after his messes.

Merchant Alert for Chicago's North Side

Merchants on the Chicago's North Side need to be alert to "The Urban Coaster," an organization that has been falsely passing itself off as a legitimately incorporated entity. Their incorporation is invalid with the Illinois Secretary of State because the check they sent for fees bounced. The three principals of the operation, pictured here, are Jim Ginderske, Francis Scudellari and Tom Westgard, all residents of Rogers Park. The three were involved in a sham operation last year called "Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park (NHRP)," which passed itself off as a legitimate non-profit organization. NHRP's incorporation was dissolved by the State of Illinois for failure to file required information documents. The men pictured here may approach you to sell you advertising for their "newspaper." However, others connected to "The Urban Coaster" might approach you, too. Insist that they show you their incorporation papers or proof that they are a legitimately registered organization before you sign any contracts or make any agreements with them, verbal or written. To file a complaint against "The Urban Coaster," get the complaint form (PDF) from the Illinois Attorney General's office or call the Better Business Bureau at 800-500-3780 . Please warn fellow merchants about "The Urban Coaster."

Ginderske Violating State Law

In Illinois, you cannot call yourself "Inc." unless you're actually incorporated. Jim Ginderske's "Urban Coaster" publication has a twin web site by the same name, both called "The Urban Coaster, Inc." The "Inc." part of the name is illegal, plain and simple, because their filing fee check bounced. Merchants who advertise in The Urban Coaster should know that they are dealing with a company that is misrepresenting their legal status. The Urban Coaster is not incorporated in the State of Illinois. Complaints can be filed with the Better Business Bureau at 800-500-3780 or the Illinois Attorney General (see info below). Illinois law states that "Any corporation which (i) puts forth any sign or advertisement, assuming any name other than that by which it is incorporated or otherwise authorized by law to act or (ii) violates Section 3.25, shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and shall be deemed guilty of an additional offense for each day it shall continue to so offend." (Source: Illinois General Assembly web site; see "Article 16 - Penalties".) "The Urban Coaster" is not incorporated, so it is misrepresenting itself with a name ("The Urban Coaster, Inc.") that is not "authorized by law." The Urban Coaster has been in violation for at least 16 days by calling themselves "Inc." in both their online and print versions. The graphics people at Urban Coaster seem to have an obsession with dead fish. Perhaps it's a Freudian admission that the operation is fishy. As noted here on December 31, Jim Ginderske and partners Thomas J. Westgard and Francis Scudellari are presenting their latest venture, "The Urban Coaster," as a legit organization. It's not. They call themselves "The Urban Coaster, Inc." but in fact they are not incorporated - not in Illinois anyway. As of January 2, 2009, their print version still said "Urban Coaster, Inc." in the masthead, and their web site said it on the lower left hand corner of their home page. Are they incorporated in another state? If so, we demand to see their incorporation papers. Their check for filing fees to the State of Illinois bounced, voiding their application. Additionally, their filing papers falsely list the address of Thomas J. Westgard, partner in The Urban Coaster, as 6970 N. Sheridan Road, Unit C. In fact, that storefront is vacant as confirmed by building management. Don't believe me? Click here to see the filing papers (or see the documents for yourself and see the Illinois Secretary of State's web site. To file a complaint against The Urban Coaster, get the complaint form (PDF) from the Illinois Attorney General's office here. Please let merchants who advertise with "The Urban Coaster" know that they are dealing with an organization that is misrepresenting its legal status.

Another Sham Ginderske Organization (Updated)

Another fraudulent organization is trying to pull the wool over your eyes, and again it's in Rogers Park. You'd think these dunces would learn. Again, it's Jim Ginderske and friends, with yet another sham organization. This time, it's his new "Urban Coaster," a web site with a twin dead-tree version.

Jim Ginderske, failed aldermanic candidate in 2007 in Chicago's 49th Ward has a history of deception. First, he lied during the aldermanic run-off election in March and April of 2007 by telling former supporters that he was not supporting Joe Moore. He did. Then, in mid-2008, Ginderske and company were exposed for operating a sham organization; his "Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park" (NHRP) was dissolved by the State of Illinois for not filing the proper papers. That did not stop Ginderske from publicly presenting his NHRP as a legitimate non-profit organization. It wasn't. Now, they are presenting their latest venture, "The Urban Coaster," as a legit organization. It's not. They call themselves "The Urban Coaster, Inc.," but in fact they are not incorporated, not in Illinois anyway. See, their check for filing fees to the State of Illinois bounced. Yup, bounced. Like rubber. Additionally, their filing papers falsely list the address of Thomas J. Westgard, partner in The Urban Coaster, as 6970 N. Sheridan Road, Unit C. In fact, that storefront is vacant. This was confirmed by building management.

Don't believe me? Click here to see the filing papers (or see the documents for yourself and see the Illinois Secretary of State's web site. Ginderske hopes to be elected to something someday, yet he can't oversee tiny organizations well enough to make sure they file annual reports or send valid checks to the Illinois Secretary of State. Now, if Ginderske is that inept, that careless, and that willing to lie about the validity of his sham organizations, how effective would he be as an elected official?

Ginderske Vows To Kiss "Everyone in Rogers Park"

He's spreading the love. Jim Ginderske, former candidate for alderman in Chicago's 49th Ward, says he's on a mission. A kissing mission.

"Everyone needs a kiss now and then," Ginderske said recently, "and I'm the guy to give it to them."

  Ginderske says that kissing people empowers them to feel loved. "We all need loving. And I'm the guy to give it to them. That, and empowerment. I'm the love empowerer of Rogers Park," he said.

His strategy is simple: Walk around the Rogers Park neighborhood and randomly kiss people, like the man in the photo here.

Ginderske was crossing Morse Avenue when he spontaneously grabbed a businessman, in the middle of the street, and kissed him.

It only lasted for 90 seconds, but Ginderske said he feels he made a good friend. They exchanged business cards and promised to call each other.

 "Men, women, children, they all need loving," Ginderske said. "Sometimes it's best when it's random. I'll just grab somebody on a whim, if they look like they need a kiss or even just a prolonged hug. I love hugging."

At least one local doesn't approve of Ginderske's random acts of kissing, however. She asked to remain anonymous, but told The Bench that she feels "creeped out" by Ginderske's actions.

"I mean," she said on the phone, "what if I don't want him to kiss me? How do I know where his lips were, you know, like twenty minutes ago? What if I catch something? What if my kid catches something?"

Alderman's Pal, Wisconsin Plates, No City Stickers

Culture of corruption, albeit on a dinky scale. One of 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore's chief operatives doesn't respect the vehicle registration rules of either the City of Chicago or the State of Illinois.

Jim Ginderske (left), who ran against Moore in the 2007 aldermanic race, is now one of Moore's key allies. Both men are working hard for Barack Obama. (Both men are "Democrats," although true Democrats would tell you otherwise.)
 
There are more examples of this in the 49th Ward: Rene Camargo (right), operative for DevCorp North, harasses struggling merchants by telling them what color to paint their ceilings, but Camargo has no Chicago city stickers on his vehicle.

Camargo tells people that he lives in Rogers Park, but has Evanston city stickers on his car. Either he's a carpetbagger from Evanston telling Chicago businesses what to do - with the implied authority of Moore behind him - or he lives in Chicago but is in violation of Chicago law just as Ginderske seems to be.

RELATED: Joe Moore Political Operative Shuns City Sticker

How Predictable, How Sadly Predictable

Leave it to a self-described "progressive Democrat" to attack John McCain's Veep pick Sarah Palin based on - substance? nope ... age. That's right, the individual I refer to is attacking McCain's choice by mocking the age difference. Now, let me be fair: The individual to whom I refer is NOT typical of the progressives I know, some of whom I call friends. Rather, he is a sick individual who is himself loathed by most of the true progressive Democrats in Chicago. He is Thomas J. Westgard, a man who openly hates transsexuals and gay people, mocks women, and now gleefully mocks senior citizens and women. Westgard, who has a wide reputation as a misogynist in Rogers Park, even has the nerve to show a scandalous video about McCain's extramarital affair. Now, I'm not excusing the marital affair, but for Westgard to mock anybody's is hypocrisy to the max. Westgard himself screwed up his own marriage - while his coffee shop was going down the toilet, his wife grabbed their kid and fled to Indiana to hide out with her mother and retains custody today. See for yourselves (links below, all posts cached). Westgard will notice a spike - again - in his pitiful numbers. Before he brags about it - as he did the last time I directed a bunch of hits his way - he should consider who the spike is coming from (again): People being directed to his sick blog to see what a tragic lunatic he is. Note: He makes no money on any hits to his blog, so click away. Westgard is a close ally of Alderman Joe Moore (49th Ward) and of Moore's lacky Jim Ginderske. All three of them avidly support Barack Obama for president. GOP Exactly 24 Years Behind Dems John McCain Sure Likes 'Em Pretty Mail-Order Running Mate The Next Hot Thing John and Sarah

Letters

Friend Natasha, an observant reader of the local blogs, makes the following observation: Well, I read a bit of "Wee Wee" Westgard's website today and I stand reproved. He's not as funny as you are (who is) but I see now how wrong I was about him. There was one particularly illuminating post that turned me around. An Anonymous poster wrote, "you have never --- never --- made the first positive contribution to your community. . ." Westgard replied, "Oh, I don't know about doing nothing for the community. I would say that helping to bring a $2,000,000 per year Federally-Qualified Health Clinic to the neighborhood might be a pretty cool thing to have done. And then, bringing a $250,000 per year Boys and Girls Club to the neighborhood is something to be proud of - even trying to do that would be pretty great." Westgard helped bring the clinic to Rogers Park? I thought it was Heartland and federal earmarks compliments of [Congressman] Jan [Schakowsky]. And the Boy's and Girl's club? That was WeeWee too? Wow. What a guy. I didn't know he had enough pull with Sen. Steans to get $50K from the state much less $2 million from a Congresswoman. Looking back, if we had just listened to him, we would have saved tax payer dollars AND had park services at Gale on Sunday. Just like church in a way. What can we say about a guy who even counts "trying" as something great? Tom, a generous, magnanimous spirit like this can't be bought. I'm sure he donates his blog-for-hire retainer to charity because, well, he's clearly not motivated by the money; it really is all about the children. Your friend, Natasha Note: It is true that Wee Wee, with Jim Ginderske, was involved in the "effort" to get the federal grant money for the health clinic. In fact, I sat in on one of their meetings in a basement meeting room on W. Lunt Ave before Ginderske was defeated in the February 2007 election. However, let's keep in mind what this really is. Somebody wrote a grant request. The grant request was passed on to Congressman Schakowsky, who bumped it up in Washington D.C. In other words, Wee Wee and Ginderske asked somebody to write a grant request, which a fancy way of holding a cup out and begging for change. Schakowsky took the cup and shook it. She got some change - money out of my pocket and your pocket - and gave it to a handful of physicians to open a clinic. The fraudulent organization called Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park (NHRP) had its hand in the effort. NHRP is Ginderske's club, but keep in mind that NHRP was involuntarily dissolved by the Illinois Secretary of State on May 9, 2008 for failure to disclose required information. Wee Wee was on the board and is the one who ultimately failed to lick a stamp and send the annual report to the State of Illinois, thus resulting in NHRP's disqualification as a legitimate non-profit organization in this state. Subsequently, Wee Wee has been booted from the NHRP board. If and when NHRP registers again with the State of Illinois, it will be without Wee Wee. (See: "Did NHRP Break the Law?", "NHRP: Ginderske's Sham Organization" and NHRP: Odd Man Out) There was never, ever any financial risk to Wee Wee, Ginderske or anybody else involved in taking money from the public. Wee Wee did not hammer any nails, he did not draw any plans, nor did Ginderske. Admittedly, the grant request was written well enough to do the job, but even a barely adequate one would have done the job with Schakowsky backing it. So, Wee Wee is essentially bragging about being an efficient accomplice to a successful group effort at stealing public money for a clinic run by pals. Same with the Boys and Girls Club: No risk, no real work, just a lot of begging, pleading and manipulation of other people's money and resources to further their own political and egotistical goals. But then, that's how socialists and communists operate.

Chicago's Terrorists

CHICAGO - An arson fire that might have destroyed the Morse Theatre on Sunday, August 10 was, by definition, terrorism. Yes, terrorism - I'll explain that below. It was probably gang members who started the fire, punched holes in walls, broke out the glass in a sound booth and scrawled hateful graffiti around the theatre's interior. It might not have been gang members; it could have been pretenders who wanted it to look like gang activity.

It doesn't matter. One thing seems clear: Whoever did this is (a) opposed to the theatre (why else try to burn it?); (b) opposed to improvements along Morse Avenue (because that threatens drug sales and prostitution revenue); and (c) believes in sustainable diversity over sustainable growth and improvement of Rogers Park. ARSON? NO DOUBT As reported on The Bench on August 10, the fire at the Morse Theatre was arson. There is no question that it was arson. Here's why:

• None of the electrical wiring was "live" yet in the areas where the fire started;
• There were two points of fire origin;
• Accelerant was used at both points of origin;
• Gang graffiti was left behind, which had not been their prior to the fire;
• A Chicago Fire Dept. official on scene agreed that it is arson.

IT WAS TERRORISM ter·ror·ism –noun 1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes. 2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization. 3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government. [Source] Whoever started the fires (plural, remember there were two points of origin, therefore two fires) at the Morse Theatre was obviously using violence. Criminal destruction of property, trespassing and arson are violent acts. The graffiti on the walls indicates an effort to intimidate. The Chicago Tribune reported that "Graffiti scrawled on a wall of the second-floor lobby did not appear to be gang-related, according to the police arson investigator, who asked not to be identified." However, The Bench notes that one Fire Department official on the scene said that it appeared to be authentic gang graffiti. Regardless of whether it was gang graffiti or not, it was meant to intimidate. Undoubtedly, it has created a state of fear (admitted or not) among the business partners behind the Morse Theatre. The graffiti that read, "Fuck da police" was a statement of resistance to the government. The Tribune: "You want war," the graffiti says, written in pencil. "[Come] get uz." The Bench and The Broken Heart posted photos of graffiti that says "Fuck da Police," which is another attempt to intimidate. Is this politically motivated? Yes. "Political" encompasses a lot more than normal politics. An attempt to stop gentrification, or a dam project, or a tract of houses is political in nature, whether it is done violently or through normal channels. War, it is said, is the ultimate political statement, and somebody in Rogers Park has declared war on the parties who are investing money and sweat to improve it. The Morse Theatre was a target on Sunday. Will there be another target? DOMESTIC TERRORISM Eco-terrorism is one form of domestic terrorism, and arson is a favorite tool of eco-terrorists, the "greens" that attack private property in the name of preserving some portion of the local environment. They have no qualms about burning people out of their homes or businesses. Eco-terrorism is one of the top priorities of the FBI. On Feb. 12, 2002, James F. Jarboe, Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, Counterterrorism Division, FBI, testified before the House Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health about the threat of eco-terrorism. He provided a succinct definition (emphasis added): Domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use, of violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States (or its territories) without foreign direction, committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. [Source] Some of the eco-terrorists, Jarboe said, advocate "monkeywrenching," which he said is "a euphemism for acts of sabotage and property destruction against industries and other entities perceived to be damaging to the natural environment." The Morse Theatre was monkeywrenched. The people who tried to burn down the Morse Theatre were most likely not eco-terrorists. But upon reflection, there are similarities. The "natural environment" that the anti-gentrification terrorists of Rogers Park are trying to preserve is an environment in which it is safe to openly sell drugs on the streets, hook up prostitutes with johns, shoplift, openly drink alcohol, and commit robbery on the streets. This underworld economy is threatened by projects such as the Morse Theatre, which promises to increase the traffic of non-criminals to the neighborhood, thereby making it more difficult for the underworld economy to function. We've already established that the graffiti, indeed the fire itself, was meant to intimidate the Morse Theatre's owners and/or gentrification in general. If the Morse Theatre arson slows down the improvement of Rogers Park, that will make a lot of people in the local criminal underworld happy. (It is curious that no other such act has occurred in Rogers Park despite the occasional flare-up of anti-gentrification hate speak over that past number of years.) THE POLITICAL ANGLE There are political factions throughout the country, all over Chicago, and here in the 49th Ward of Rogers Park that fear positive change. (It is ironic that most of them support Barack Obama, the candidate of undefined "change.") Rogers Park is not unique in being a mix of beautiful, tree-lined residential streets with well maintained homes and blighted areas such as W. Morse Avenue and W. Howard Street. It is also not unique in having political groups that oppose private businesses coming and, in effect, improving the neighborhood by offering local jobs, adding to the tax base and indirectly lowering crime. Alderman Joe Moore is a walking contradiction in this regard. On the one hand, he has a vested interest in maintaining the high numbers of people living near or below the poverty level here. They make up the vast majority of his supporters. Yet, Moore has been a friend to developers over the years as they have brought in more and more condominium projects. Moore has some strange bedfellows, too, such as Jim Ginderske and Tom Westgard. Westgard was Ginderske's campaign chair in the aldermanic race of 2006-2007. Both are openly against gentrification and prefer publicly funded and grant funded socialized projects to private sector efforts. Ginderske and Westgard are now well entrenched within the Moore Regime. Recently, Ginderske and Westgard were seen drinking with Moore and Washington DC political consultant Andrew Sharp after a Cubs game. Ginderske sits on several of Moore's committees. Westgard is encouraged by Moore to write his hateful blog posts against the Morse Theatre. Andrew Sharp is a top advisor to Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Sharp's philosophy is stated on his web site. It is borrowed from a Chairman Mao quote: "Politics is war without bloodshed." The full Mao quote is "Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed." (Sharp says nothing about arson or criminal destruction of private property.) CHEERLEADING THE TERRORISTS One of the harshest critics of the Morse Theatre project, Westgard has repeatedly slandered and libeled theater partner Andy McGhee and the theater itself. Westgard has been the biggest cheerleader of the anti-gentrification terrorists, intentionally or otherwise. His own words may have encouraged Sunday's terrorist arson at the theater by giving them the impression that such an act would be tolerated by the Moore Regime. Alderman Moore has given no indication that this is not the case.

CTA TIF Meeting: Resistance is Futile

Weird meeting with CTA President Ron Huberman last night to discuss the ongoing renovation of the Howard Street CTA Station. The meeting was in gymnasium at Gale Elementary School in Rogers Park. Huberman were here to placate the little folks (us) by pretending to care about how we care about our own neighborhood. Huberman spent about five minutes telling us that he was once a beat cop in the hood. Dunno if that was to establish a bond with us, to threaten us subtly by pointing out that he's good with a gun, or what. Alderman Moore (49th Ward) was there and said a whole lot of nothing, as usual. Look, let's be honest. Moore doesn't give a crap about this or you or me, really, and Huberman already has his mind made up to grab 4.7 million bucks from the Howard Street TIF. One of the attendees asked Huberman, in an eloquent mini-speech, why he doesn't keep his mitts off the local TIF dough and dip into the tens of millions of dollars being pissed away to mothball CTA's Magnificent Failure at Block 37 in the Loop. No answer from Huberman to that, of course. I won't bore you with fine details - it doesn't matter because this is another done deal put before us to try to make us think we're involved. We ain't, folks, and lemme tell ya, Ron Huberman could sell shit to a maggot. Joe Moore, for instance, seems to have bought all the shit that Huberman has placed before him. Joe oughta watch Ron. Ron pretends he's interested in what people are saying, like Joe tries to do, but Huberman is more convincing. Daley's Golden Boy, Huberman is able to send out these weird hypno rays from his eyes to try to stupify us (see photo). You could see them if you looked close enough, but the ray seem to work only on stupid people. The room was filled with about 45 people, most of whom seemed to be too smart for Ron's eye rays. Huberman tried to frighten us by threatening to stop work on the half-finished Howard Station renovation. BS about the escalators needing to be completely enclosed, for example, even though the escalators at Loyola Station have been open to rain and snow exposure for years with no real problem. Huberman lied. He cajoled. He pouted. He made Jim Ginderske uncomfortable, for Jim found himself in the uncomfortable position of not being the prettiest boy in the room. Unfortunately, as I said, the TIF money for this over-budgeted, beyond projected completion, a done deal. This was all for show. Bottom line: CTA will rape and pillage as needed, they will threaten some miniature local version of a Doomsday scenario if we stand in their way, and ultimately, we will not be able to resist. Resistance is futile, folks.

Joe Moore Fulfills a Campaign Promise!

Join Us for a MOVIE IN TOUHY PARK!

Howdy Neighbor,

I am writing to invite you to grab a case of beer and some grub and join my new wife, my kids by a previous marriage and me for my annual MOVIE IN THE DARK this Sunday, August 3rd, at dusk (approximately 8:15 p.m.) at Touhy Park, 7300 block of Paulina (across from the new Clark Street Fire Station, near all the prostitutes and drug traffic that happens around that time of night). Joining me as a sponsor for this year's Movie in the Park is Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin and the Touhy Park Advisory Council. That's right, we're sponsors, which means Larry and I are paying for the movie out of our own pockets!

This year's movie is THE WATER BOY: LEGEND OF JIM GINDERSKE, an adaptation of the scary novel The Water Boy. It stars a young man who enters into a mysterious pact with the Devil and goes to work for a corrupt local politician as his"water boy" (loosely based on a sports team's water boy). The corrupt politician goes on to Washington to become the Director of the Federal Prison System, into which he later becomes an inmate known as the fabled Rogers Park Monster. Water Boy Jim visits his former mentor in prison, and all hell breaks loose. Hilarious!

For the movie trailer, CLICK HERE.

After the movie, I plan to booze it up at a nearby tavern. Adults only, of course! Take the kids home and join the missus and me for LIQUOR AFTER DARK!

I look forward to enjoying this delightful fantasy evening with you.

See you Sunday!

Sincerely,

Joe Moore

Visit the website of the 49th Ward

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Did NHRP Break the Law?

NHRP's Certificate Of Dissolution

Click to enlarge; Right-click to download

Residents of the 49th Ward recently learned that Jim Ginderske's organization, Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park, is a sham. It is discredited, officially, by the Illinois Secretary of State's office.

The NHRP was dissolved by official decree on May 9, 2008 for failure to submit an annual report (see image). Even so, Jim Ginderske continues to brandish the NHRP name as some sort of talisman of legitimacy.

In other words, NHRP is not transparent. You and I - and the Secretary of State - have not been given a full accounting of any money that passed through the hands of the NHRP.

We would like to see a full accounting from NHRP. We would like to see them open their books. (We doubt that they will.) Had they filed an annual report, we could look at it. Did they not file because of incompetence, or because they have something to hide?

During the last aldermanic campaigns, Ginderske's aldermanic campaign chair Tom Westgard filled out a Form NFP 102.10, Articles of Incorporation for a general not for profit corporation. He signed and dated it November 14, 2006. The board of directors members named on the form were Ginderske, Westgard, and Francis Scudellari (a Ginderske 2007 campaign member).

Appendix A of NHRP's incorporation papers raises interesting questions.

Appendix A, Section 2 of the NHRP's articles of incorporation state that it is "organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that quality as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code."

The NHRP was dissolved by the Illinois Secretary of State in May of 2008 for failure to submit an annual report. Let us assume that NHRP immediately ceased any fundraising activity immediately. NHRP submitted its Form NFP 102.10 in November of 2006. That's approximately 19 months in which NHRP was, presumably, soliciting donations.

That raises questions. Notice that Section 1 states that NHRP was "organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational and scientific purposes," and for making donations to other 501(c)(3) organizations. It does NOT say "or." It says "exclusively" and "and."

Question: Did NHRP engage in religious activities? Section 1 said they had to. Scientific activities? What were those?

Question: Did NHRP funnel money to the Ginderske 2007 aldermanic campaign? We're not saying they did. We are asking whether that happened.

Question: After Ginderske lost his campaign bid, he supported Moore's campaign in the run-off election. Did NHRP funnel money to the Joe Moore aldermanic campaign? We're not saying they did; we are asking whether that happened.

Questions: Will Alderman Joe Moore completely break with and disown the NHRP? Will he also demand to see their financial records, their missing annual report? Will Joe Moore follow the lead of the Illinois Secretary of State and acknowledge that the NHRP is a group that has no legitimacy?

Section 3 states that "No part of the net earnings of The Corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons" except as "reasonable compensation for services rendered" to the corporation.

Question: Did any money donated to the NHRP find its way into the pockets of NHRP board members? We're not saying this happened; we are asking whether it did, and if so, how much and why?

Section 3 also states that "No substantial part of the activities of The Corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing of distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office."

Question: NHRP regularly carried on propaganda activities, and continues to do so. (Propaganda is not necessarily a bad thing; an ad for toothpaste is propaganda, as is an ad telling us to buckle our seat belts.)

NHRP's barrage of messages regarding health centers and community centers is certainly propaganda. This has certainly been a "substantial part of the activities" of NHRP. Furthermore, did NHRP "participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing of distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office?"

Section 4 instructs that "Upon the dissolution of The Corporation, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code," or be distributed to federal, state or local government "for a public purpose." It goes on to order that "assets no so disposed of shall be disposed" by a county court.

Question: What has happened, since May 9, 2008, to any money that NHRP had?

Neighbors: "Say No To Joe!" and Junkie Jim

Better to learn later than never, I suppose. It seems a lot - I mean a lot - of people in Chicago's 49th Ward are realizing that Alderman Joe Moore, Democrat, is just another manipulating, lying opportunist. This photo sums it up. Sick of Moore's 17 years of lies and his recent attempt to ram the Boys and Girls Club down the throats of ward residents like they were foie gras geese, people are speaking up. Moore has been using a shady front organization that calls itself the Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park (NHRP) to ram the Boys and Girls club into the newly built Gale Community Center on W. Howard Street. Moore seems content to stay out of the spot light on this issue, preferring to let NHRP appear to take the lead - and the heat. Fronted by Moore's sock puppet and fellow Democrat "Junkie Jim" Ginderske, NHRP has been discredited as a sham organization by revelations that the State of Illinois issued a dissolution of the group in May. Moore and Junkie Jim, however, seem to be out of synch. Tuesday night's meeting at the Loyola Park field house demonstrates this. Nobody else from the discredited NHRP was there, either. Junkie Jim was left to fend for himself, and he fell to pieces in a room that was not under the firm control of friendly fellow Stalinistas. Joe Moore seems ready to disown Ginderske's NHRP in the same way that fellow Democrat party hack Barack Obama disowned Jeremiah Wright. RELATED: NHRP: Ginderske's Sham Organization (The Bench) NHRP: Odd Man Out (The Bench) Who the Hell is NHRP? (The Bench)

NHRP: Odd Man Out

* Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park Dissolved is one of many blog posts you'll see about this in the coming weeks. "Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park" is a fraud, but has been presenting itself as a legit non-profit, charitable organization for some time now, especially during the current fracas over the Gale Community Center and the NHRP-favored installation of a Boys and Girls Club there. The NHRP, which Alderman Joe Moore loves to cite as some magnificent organization, is actually not a registered non-profit with Illinois. The state dissolved them on May 9, 2008. That's why, as The Bench noted on July 11, their "How to Donate" page was under construction. They cannot legally accept donations - unless they want to pay personal income taxes on the monies as personal income. But here's the kicker: They will try to reform, but only two of the original board members (Jim Ginderske, Francis Scudellari, Tom Westgard) will remain on the board. Mechanics liens attorney Thomas J. Westgard, The Bench is told, was tossed overboard. Odd man Westgard is out. Back on July 11, The Bench wrote this: Their "How to Donate" page is mysteriously "under construction." Their "Who We Are" page does not tell us who they are.Who ARE these people? The only person whose name is revealed in the web site is Jim Ginderske. He is identified as "Jim Ginderske, a Director with the Neighbors group" in a Sept. 11, 2007 press release. His name appears on a total of five of the pages (see list below), but even this "Director's" name is not on the "Who We Are" page. In fact, nobody's name appears on that page. Now why is that? Yup. Saw it coming, we did. Westgard likes to call Don Gordon, a former aldermanic candidate, a man who never sees a project through to completion. Westgard, the attorney, failed to file an annual report with the state, thus resulting in the dissolution of NHRP. Don Gordon gets the last laugh.

Streetscape: Rogers Park as Mayberry, Part Two

The other day, one of Alderman Joe Moore's attack dogs posted a photo of some Streets and Sanitation work being done at N. Ashland and W. Morse. The attack dog, who is the former campaign chair of Moore's poodle Jim Ginderske, is the guy who posted the photo. The accompanying headline: "Streetscape Begins?"

Whah? The text of the attack dog's blog post was brief. "Morse & Ashland is getting a big revision. Is this the beginning of the streetscape construction? Time will tell."

This is fascinating, and provides a glimpse into the weird, not-ready-for-prime-time Mayberry RFD parallel universe within the two-square miles of Chicago's 49th Ward.

Ginderske is - theoretically - well connected these days to Ald. Moore. The attack dog is well connected to poodle Ginderske. At least, theoretically. Why then, does the attack dog not know whether or not the work being done at Ashland and Morse is connected to the long-anticipated, severely past due Streetscape for Morse Avenue?

I don't have the answer. But the point is that the attack dog doesn't, either. What's more, the alderman is strangely mum on the point. Many of us in the neighborhood are wondering the same thing. There are rumors on the street - from supposedly well connected individuals - that Streetscape will indeed commence in late August, after the Glenwood Arts Fest. If that is true, why hasn't Joe Moore been trumpeting that. After all, Moore is the kind of guy who loves ribbon cuttings - for things that don't yet deserve a ribbon cutting. The "new" Howard CTA station is a good example. Weeks ago, Moore conducted a ribbon cutting for the station, the renovation of which is still nowhere complete and will not be finished until sometime next year. Why, then, have we not yet seen a firm announcement about a Morse Avenue Streetscape? Why no ribbon cutting?

Who the Hell is NHRP?

"Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park" has a lousy web site. Their "How to Donate" page is mysteriously "under construction." Their "Who We Are" page does not tell us who they are. Who ARE these people? The only person whose name is revealed in the web site is Jim Ginderske. He is identified as "Jim Ginderske, a Director with the Neighbors group" in a Sept. 11, 2007 press release. His name appears on a total of five of the pages (see list below), but even this "Director's" name is not on the "Who We Are" page. In fact, nobody's name appears on that page. Now why is that? "People like Francis Scudellari, Terry Feingold, and Kathy Sprattling," are mentioned in the press release, mentioned above. Curiously, however, it doesn't say whether they are members or just people who attended meetings. There is one person of interest whose name does not appear anywhere on the NHRP web site. Thomas J. Westgard (a.k.a., Tom Westgard, Thomas A. Westgard, Wee Wee) gets no reference at all on the NRHP site. It is curious indeed that the former Campaign Chair of Ginderske's 2008-2007 aldermanic effort is not listed here. Are they that ashamed of their association with him? The pages where Ginderske's name appears: Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park Sep 11, 2007 ... Jim Ginderske, a Director with the Neighbors group credits the tenacity of a ... Ginderske said "Were it not for her technical expertise and ...healthyrp.org/clinic_pr091107.php Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park According to Task Force member James Ginderske: "This population is subject to greatly exaggerated risks of serious illness and often turns to emergency ...healthyrp.org/pr020106.php Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park My name is James Ginderske and I am the volunteer chairperson of the Northside Power Subcommittee on Health. Rogers Park is exceptionally racially diverse- ...healthyrp.org/testimony.php Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park Jim Ginderske, a Director with the Neighbors group credits the tenacity of a broad coalition of community partners and HIHC for the funding of the new ...healthyrp.org/pr.php Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park Testimony of James Ginderske Before the Cook County Board (January 9, 2006) ... Chronically ill patients living in Rogers Park face a fifteen mile commute ...healthyrp.org/clinic.php

Donations? Uhm...

Jim Ginderske's "Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park" has been a part of the recent effort to install a Boys and Girls Club chapter at the new Gale Community Center in Rogers Park.

If you like the work that Ginderske and his gang have been doing, perhaps you'd like to support them with a donation! Can you do that? Let's find out, shall we?

What's that? They're not taking donations? Why not??? Hmmm....