Chicago Model City Exhibition Extended Through November 2010

Chicago Model City Exhibition Extended Through November 2010 Chicago Architecture Foundation Enhances Detailed Model of Chicago Chicago Architecture Foundation Media Release Photos courtesy Chicago Architecture Foundation (click to enlarge)

Chicago – November 5, 2009 – The Chicago Model City exhibition has drawn a vibrant band of locals and tourists who linger over the city in “miniature” every day since it opened in June. Originally scheduled to close in November, the exhibition has been extended through November 2010 with some upgrades and additions.

Free and open daily, Chicago Model City, is at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, 224 S. Michigan. New additions to the exhibition will include an audio tour, an expanded schedule of free bi-weekly gallery talks, new adult and family programs, family programs, and a Flickr page where visitors share photos of the model and exhibition. “The popularity of Chicago Model City demonstrates the desire for greater understanding of Chicago and all cities,” said Lynn Osmond, Chicago Architecture Foundation President and CEO. “Many people recognize that the design of architecture and infrastructure is key to achieving livable communities.”

The centerpiece of Chicago Model City is the first and only large-scale city model fabricated using the cutting-edge rapid prototyping manufacturing process called stereolithography.

Chicago Model City appeals to all ages by allowing visitors to get up close to the model which spans four sq. miles from Lake Michigan to Halsted and from Oak Street to 16th Street . It has 1000 highly detailed buildings in 400 city blocks.

The scale is 1 inch to 50 feet, making the Sears Tower nearly three feet tall! The lighting simulates June 21st, the longest day of the year, going from morning to night every 15 minutes.

“This exhibition really ties into the Chicago Architecture Foundation tours,” said Jason Neises, Chicago Architecture Foundation VP of Tours. “People like retracing their steps and can really see the path of the river cruise and many of our walking tours.” Chicago Model City explores how a region as vast and complex as Chicago takes shape. The exhibition highlights the goals of the people who influence urban life, and it examines the intended and unintended consequences of their actions. By focusing on landmark planning events that have been adopted or avoided in cities everywhere, the exhibition explores why Chicago is a model city.

Chicago Model City encompasses five sections: Beautiful City Plan of Chicago To planners, beautification is a way to achieve wealth, efficiency, and harmony.

Global City O’Hare International Airport International transportation networks are the foundations of Chicago ’s financial and creative wealth. Connected City The ‘L’ Chicagoans’ ability to travel throughout the region encourages urban growth; drives real estate development; and contributes to the quality of life.

Green City Chicago Climate Action Plan Chicago’s dense population, commerce and industry, and complex infrastructure are ingredients for a green or a dirty city. How will planners tip the balance in favor of a productive and healthy environment? New City Remaking the South Side Some planners’ solution is to demolish neighborhoods and build anew. The Chicago model will be a permanent legacy for the city.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation plans to continue enhancing and expanding the model, which will become the focus of its new facility, planned for 2012. Corporations including DSM Desotech, Baxter International Inc., and Molex Incorporated worked with Columbian Model & Exhibit Works by donating staff, technology, and materials to fabricate the model. Leading support was provided by Baxter International Inc., DSM Desotech, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity / Bureau of Tourism, Allstate Corporation, Bank of America, The Burnham Plan Centennial, Feldco, Molex Incorporated, Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, and Structural Engineers Association of Illinois. Additional support was provided by Altman Lighting, Chicago Bears Football Club, Chicago Sun-Times, Color Kinetics, HOK, Intelligent Lighting Creations, Inc., Illinois Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Lightswitch Architectural, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, and Zumtobel Lighting, Inc.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public interest and education in architecture and design. The Chicago Architecture Foundation pursues this mission through architecture tours, exhibitions, panel discussions, and youth and adult education programs.

Chinese American Service League

I just wanted to give a free plug and shoutout to our friends and faithful readers at the Chinese American Service League, one of Chicago's finest non-profit organizations. Check them out, please. They do good work. The Chinese American Service League is a contracted agency with CEDA to assist qualified low income families in Chinatown and vicinity area apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. We have assisted more than 700 seniors during the past two months. Registration with low income families will take place in Room 121 of Chinese American Service League located at 2141 S. Tan Court, Chicago beginning November 3, 2008. For more information on this program please click here for English or Chinese. [PDF documents] RELATED: Asians In America (AIA) Directory AIA Chicago 2004 Design Excellence Awards CNB RSS Feed

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?

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.

Pillaging the Boys and Girls Clubs

The top executive of the "non-profit" Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) 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?

Or does it sound like a big, huge organization trying to fatten itself up?

It stinks. Spillett's salary was just under $600,000 a year and a half ago. She is something of a star in the charity world for have such a large salary, and a salary that grows rapidly every year.

Now consider this: The BGCA's finances are not in the best of shape. Considering that, shouldn't Ms. Spillett be charitable and reduce her own salary? After all, that's something the likes of Jan Schakowsky, Heather Steans, Joe Moore and Jim Ginderske and others would call for - if Ms. Spillett was an oil company executive. But because she works for a "non-profit," it is acceptable to the likes of Ginderske for the likes of Spillet to take a huge personal ever-growing windfall profit.

"It's for the kids" is just a cynical advertising phrase for a "non-profit" whose top executives are apparently profiting quite nicely.

This report by Bill Treanor, October 2007, sums it up well:

The Capitol Hill-financed juggernaut that has been the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over two decades has stalled in the fast lane of national politics. As of late September, the BGCA was scheduled to receive from Congress $60 million in fiscal 2008, no small sum by any reckoning. But that’s down from its peak of $85 million in fiscal 2006. Last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the group that claims over 4.8 million youth served through 4,100 clubs received $70 million from the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP). FULL ARTICLE at Youth Today...

So, BGCA's federal funding is down, and down significantly. Has that stopped Spillett from siphoning more and more money from BGCA into her own purse? Nope.

And here is where we may begin to understand the sudden, hyper-enthusiastic support that the Ginderske-Moore hydra has shown for BGCA. Moore and Ginderske, politicians both, are creatures in constant search for future political campaign donors. They're very eager to scratch Ms. Spillett's back for now. They will probably expect something in return from Spillet & Company down the road.

The White Papers

Plenty of smoke. Sooner or later we'll find the fire. Could it be now that he's a executive director of a not-for-profit, [Brian] White needs [49th Ward Alderman] Joe Moore to keep his executive salary intact? In 2006, Brian White earned a whooping $72,000 dollars. With a total revenue of $101,841 dollars, White took most of this money for himself.... When a not-for-profit is paying out 70% in administration fees - well, I consider that a crime in itself. It's no wonder they went in the hole.

Northside POWER Sleep Out A Snoozer

Alderman Joe Moore left the "Sleep Out" wide awake. So did most of the attendees of this lame and puzzling protest demonstration this evening. (Video from The Bench on Monday evening, 2/25.)

Moore left soon after delivering a speech that could have been given on the steps of the Kremlin in 1917. The speech by Brian White, before Moore's, was even more radical. Both men called, in essence, for the government to control rent prices, private property prices, and they hinted at racial quotas for housing. White is the Executive Director of Lakeside Community Development Corporation, located at 1806 W. Greenleaf Avenue.

The event flyer included such catch phrases as "Curb Condo Conversions," "Support Balanced Housing," More Affordable Housing" and "Stop Renter Displacement." Right out of the Far Left Handbood of Cliches for Useful Idiots. One observer commented that they "are about eight years too late" to try to stop the condo conversions, and since the housing bubble burst it "seems like a pointless exercise anyway."

Nevertheless, a group of approximately 45 people gathered at W. Morse Avenue and N. Greenview in the 49th Ward at 4:00 p.m. today. The event was billed as a "Sleep Out" with a "prayer vigil and press conference." The "Sleep Out" is supposed to end at 7:00 tomorrow morning, but Moore, White and others left before 6:00 p.m. So much for solidarity.

The so-called "Sleep Out" was organized by Rev. Marilyn Pagan Banks of Northside POWER (People Organized to Work, Educate, and Restore). The flyers for the "Sleep Out" advertised a prayer vigil. Nobody was sleeping out, and there was no prayer vigil as of 8:00 p.m. on this frigid evening.

Northside POWER is politically active advocacy arm of the Good News Community Kitchen, located at 7649 N. Paulina Street in Rogers Park, it is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Northside POWER violates the conditions of its IRS tax exempt status frequently, and tonight's event was just another example of this abuse of tax payer goodwill.

But Brian White's Lakeside CDC seems to be violating IRS rules for non-profit organizations, too.

This recruitment ad for Lakeside CDC says that it "is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) housing organization located in Rogers Park on Chicago's far North Side. Lakeside CDC serves eight Chicago neighborhoods, including Rogers Park, Edgewater, Uptown, West Ridge, Lincoln Square, North Center, Albany Park, and North Park. Services include housing counseling for low- and moderate-income individuals, advocacy for more affordable housing, and real estate development activities. Lakeside CDC has a staff of two and depends on the active involvement of volunteers to advance its mission."

Consider this from the IRS:

The political campaign activity prohibition is not intended to restrict free expression on political matters by leaders of organizations speaking for themselves, as individuals. Nor are leaders prohibited from speaking about important issues of public policy. However, for their organizations to remain tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3), leaders cannot make partisan comments in official organization publications or at official functions.

To avoid potential attribution of their comments outside of organization functions and publications, organization leaders who speak or write in their individual capacity are encouraged to indicate clearly that their comments are personal and not intended to represent the views of the organization.

Rev. Pagan Banks and Brian White are both "organization leaders." The "Sleep Out" was an official function. Alderman Moore said that the event was "made possible" by Northside POWER, which put out the blue flyers.

Both Pagan Banks and White presented themselves as being official representatives of their respective (tax exempt) organizations. Both of them spoke on behalf of their organizations. At no time did either of them "indicate clearly that their comments are personal and not intended to represent the views of the organization." Quite the opposite, in fact.

But this should surprise nobody. This crowd to which Moore, Pagan Banks and White belong are experts at playing with TIFs and playing loose with your tax dollars. These self-appointed "community leaders" wish to tell you what to do. Brian White is not only the chief poo bah of Lakeside CDC. He is also the co-chair of the WRPCO TIF/Community Planning Board Committee. It should also be noted that, through his public activities, Brian White has made himself a very public figure.

The White-Moore-Pagan Banks crowd intends to initiate legislation - at city, county, state and federal levels - to be able to command that you do it, too. If you don't believe that, you've been asleep your entire adult life. Wake up.

The Bench: Moore Pagan Activities, Tax Code Violations

The Bench: EXTRA: The "Press Conference" That Wasn't

How Rent Control Drives Out Affordable Housing

Brian White of the Lakeside CDC suggested that $7 million in TIF funds were available; couldn't it be used to buy down the cost of the condos?